II 


)    I 

I 


I 

'ii 


intii 
ii!!!! 


t  H 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 


Act  of  1910.— The  Historic  Pens. 


NEW  MEXICO'S 
STRUGGLE  FOR  STATEHOOD 

Sixty  Years  of  Effort  to  Obtain 
Self  Government. 


BY 

L.h  BRADFORD  PRINCE, 
President  Historical  Society  of  New  Mexico, 
Ex-Assemblyman   and  Senator,   New  York, 
Ex-Chief  Justice  and  Governor,  New  Mexico. 


FIRST  EDITION. 


SANTA  FE,  N.  M. 

THE  NEW  MEXICAN  PRINTING  COMPANY 
1910 


f  95  0\ 


COAST 
HISTORY 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I.                                                              Page 
.The  Beginning  of  the  Struggle 5 

CHAPTER  II. 

Convention  of  1848 9 

CHAPTER  III. 

Convention  of  1849 13 

CHAPTER  IV. 

The  Constitution  of  1850  and    First  'State 

Government 17 

CHAPTER  V. 

Legislative  Effort  and  Constitution  of  1872 ...     24 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Congressional  Action  to  1876 34 

CHAPTER  VII 

Congressional  Action  1876  to  1895 37 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Constitution  of  1890 48 

CHAPTER  IX 

Proposed  Changes  of  Name 60 

CHAPTER  X. 

Favorable   Influences 65 

CHAPTRR  XI. 

National  Conventions 70 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Hearings  in  Washington 74 

CHAPTER  XIII 

Statements  to  Committees.  81 


2  TABLE   OF  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV.  Page 

Congressional  1895  to  1901 91 

CHAPTER  XV. 

The  Beveridge  Com  mittee 95 

CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Right  to  Self  Government 102 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Joint  Statehood  Movement  of  1906 107 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Proposed  Convention  of  1907 113 

CHAPTER  XIX 

Congressional  Action,  1901  to  1910 118 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Final  Success.  124 


INTRODUCTION". 


Self-government  is  the  fundamental  principle  of  a  Re- 
public; pre-eminently  of  the  American  Republic. 

It  is  the  keynote  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence, 
and  the  foundation  of  the  Constitution. ' 

"Governments  derive  their  just  powers  from  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed." 

"We,  the  people  of  the  United  States.  . .  .do  ordain  and 
establish  this  Constitution." 

Yet,  in  New  Mexico,  American  citizens  have  been  de- 
prived of  self-government  for  over  sixty  years;  and  that, 
against  their  repeated  remonstrances;  and  for  at  least  a 
quarter  of  a  century  without  a  vestige  of  right  or  reason. 

Now,  when  this  strange  anomaly  is  about  to  disappear, 
and  this  long  period  of  un-American  bondage  to  end,  it 
seems  proper  to  review  the  history  of  those  years,  and  of 
the  Struggle  for  Statehood  which  has  continued  through 
their  whole  duration. 

Again,  there  are  few  who  appreciate  the  remarkable  re- 
cord which  New  Mexico  has  achieved  as  a  constitution- 
maker.  No  Territory  ever  framed  so  many  constitutions; 
no  Territory  ever  framed  them  so  well. 

The  three  that  are  in  print,  those  of  1850,  1872  and 
1890,  are  all  models  of  excellence,  instruments  of  which 
any  people  may  be  proud. 

It  seems  well,  just  as  the  final  constitution  is  to  be  form- 
ulated, that  the  excellences  of  these  should  be  realized  and 
perhaps  in  some  respects  followed. 

That  of  1850,  especially,  is  a  marvel.  When  we  remem- 
ber that  it  was  written  less  than  four  years  after  the 
American  occupation;  by  a  convention,  over  nine-tenths 
of  whose  membership  was  of  Spanish  descent  and  very 
brief  experience  in  the  American  governmental  system,  it 
is  not  simply  creditable,  it  is  almost  a  miracle  of  excel- 
lence; and  its  courageous  declaration  as  to  human  slavery, 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

under  the  peculiar  circumtances,  and  in  view  of  the  sacri- 
fice which  it  involved.,  is  beyond  all  praise. 

There  is  another  reason  which  seems  to  render  such  a 
retrospect  timely.  Perhaps  nowhere  in  history  is  there 
such  a  series  of  failures,  in  what  at  the  time  seemed  al- 
most certainty,  through  unlocked  for  and  often  insignifi- 
cant causes. 

Statehood  was  almost  attained  in  1850;  it  was  lost  by 
a  handshake  in  1875,  by  a  sudden  impetuous  word  in 
188£),  by  a  shiver  of  malaria  and  a  miscalculation  of  time 
in  1894. 

At  least  a  dozen  times  the  passage  of  an  Enabling  Act 
has  been  considered  certain,  and  its  failure  has  come  from 
some  unimportant  cause.  Today,  the  fruition  of  long  ef- 
fort, the  victorious  end  of  the  protracted  struggle,  seems 
at  hand.  But  this  retrospect  may  teach  the  value  of  ex- 
treme care  and  tactful  consideration,  that  the  chalice  may 
not  again  be  dashed  from  the  thirsty  lips,  and  American 
citizens  be  longer  consigned  to  political  bondage. 


STRUGGLE  FOR  STATEHOOD 


CHAPTER  I. 


THE  BEGINNING  OF  THE  STRUGGLE. 

In  no  part  of  the  United  States  has  there  ever  been  such 
a  protracted  struggle  for  self-government  as  in  New  Mexi- 
co. In  no  other  case  has  Statehood  been  so  long  withheld. 

The  inhabited  parts  of  the  Louisiana  Purchase,  in  the 
vicinity  of  New  Orleans  and  St.  Louis,  acquired  in  1803, 
were  admitted  as  the  State  of  Louisiana  in  1812  and  that 
oi'  Missouri  in  1821.  Florida,  which  was  acquired  from 
Spain  in  1821,  became  a  State  in  1845.  Of  the  terri- 
tory ceded  by  Mexico  in  1848,  California,  which  was  then 
the  only  inhabited  portion  except  New  Mexico,  was  ad- 
mitted in  1850.  The  vast  domain  north  and  south  of  the 
Ohio,  roamed  over  by  Indians  at  the  foundation  of  the 
national  government,  was  divided  into  self-governing 
States  as  fast  as  white  settlement  permitted ;  Ohio,  Indiana 
and  Illinois  becoming  States  in  1802,  1816  and  1818;  and 
Mississippi  and  Alabama  in  1817  and  1819. 

New  Mexico  was  acquired  with  California  and  the  re- 
mainder of  northern  Mexico  by  occupation  in  1846  and 
cession  in  1848,  and  yet  more  than  sixty  years  afterwards 
it  was  still  struggling  to  obtain  the  fundamental  right  of 
a  free  people  and  still  meeting  opposition  and  defeat. 

The  struggle  for  Statehood  began  almost  as  soon  as  the 
American  occupation.  In  the  speeches  and  proclamations 
of  Gov.  Kearny  language  was  used  which  aroused  hope, 
if  it  did  not  give  promise,  of  self-government.  In  the 
first  address  in  front  of  the  Palace,  on  August  19th,  1846, 
he  announced  the  intention  to  "establish  a  civil  govern- 
ment on  a  republican  basis  similar  to  those  of  our  own 
States." 


6  THE  BEGINNING   OF   THE  STRUGGLE. 

In  the  formal  proclamation  of  annexation  issued  three 
days  later,  appeared  these  words:  "It  is  the  wish  and  in- 
tention of  the  United  States  to  provide  for  Xew  Mexico 
a  free  government,  with  the  least  possible  delay,  similar 
to  those  in  the  United  States." 

By  Article  IX  of  the  Treaty  of  Guadahvpe  Hidalgo  it 
is  provided  that  the  people  of  the '  Territory  annexed  to 
the  United  States  "shall  be  incorporated  into  the  Union 
of  the  United  States  and  be  admitted  at  the  proper  time 
(to  be  judged  of  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States)  to 
the  enjoyment  of  all  the  rights  of  citizens  of  the  United 
States  according  to  the  principles  of  the  Constitution.'7 

The  ratifications  of  the  Treaty  were  exchanged  at 
Queretero,  May  30,  1848,  and  it  was  formally  proclaimed 
at  Washington  on  July  4,  1848,  and  at  Santa  Fe  in  Au- 
gust of  that  year. 

By  this  re-establishment  of  peace  the  military  rule  in 
the  newly  acquired  territory,  together  with  the  civil  gov- 
ernments which  had  been  set  up  by  military  authority  in 
California  and  Xew  Mexico,  legally  ceased  to  exist,  but 
the  practical  conditions  required  some  regular  govern- 
ment to  act  until  Congress  should  provide  for  the  future; 
and  the  national  administration  took  the  ground  that  "the 
termination  of  the  war  left  an  existing  government,  a  gov- 
ernment de  facto,  in  full  operation ;  and  this  will  continue, 
with  the  presumed  consent  of  the  people,  until  Congress 
shall  provide  for  them  a  Territorial  government."  The 
advice  of  the  President  was  that  the  people  should  "live 
peacably  and  quietly  under  the  existing  government  for 
a  few  months"  until  Congress  could  act  deliberately  and 
wisely. 

Hon.  Thomas  H.  Benton,  then  in  the  height  of  his 
influence  and  power  as  Senator  from  Missouri,  was  greatly 
interested  in  the  condition  of  the  new  domain,  and  especi- 
ally of  New  Mexico;  and  in  default  of  any  representation 
of  the  acquired  territory,  in  Congress,  he  cheerfully  as- 
sumed the  place  of  its  protector  and  was  looked  up  to  by 
the  body  of  the  people  as  their  best  friend  and  their  politic- 
al guide.  The  view  that  he  took  of  the  situation  was  that 


THE   BEGINNING   OF   THE  STRUGGLE.  7 

no  congressional  enabling  act  or  other  action  by  Congress 
was  necessary,  but  that  the  people  as  American  citizens 
had  the  right  to  frame  and  adopt  a  constitution,  organize 
their  local  government,  and  then  ask  Congress  to  admit 
them  into  the  Union  and  afford  to  them  proper  representa- 
tion in  both  Houses  of  the  national  legislature.  Under 
date  of  August  28th,  1848,  he  addressed  an  open  letter 
to  the  people  of  California  and  New  Mexico,  in  which  he 
advised  them  "to  meet  in  convention,  provide  for  a  cheap 
and  simple  government,  and  take  care  of  yourselves  until 
Congress  can  provide  for  yon." 

Meanwhile,  under  the  provisions  of  the  Kearny  Code, 
the  first  legislature  of  New  Mexico  had  been  elected,  and 
had  held  its  regular  session,  beginning  on  December  6th, 
1847.  The  Council  consisted  of  seven  members  elected  by 
districts,  with  Antonio  Sandoval  of  Bernalillo  County  as 
President ;  and  the  House  of  twenty-one  members  with 
W.  Z.  Angney  as  Speaker. 

This  legislature  could  do  little  but  local  business,  as  the 
Treaty  of  Peace  with  Mexico  was  not  yet  signed,  but  it 
has  been  rendered  famous  by  the  bold  and  excellent  char- 
acter of  the  Message  delivered  to  the  joint  session  by  Gov. 
Donaciano  Vigil,  especially  relative  to  public  education. 
After  lamenting  that  there  was  but  one  public  school  in 
the  Territory,  and  that  the  funds  were  only  sufficient  for 
one  teacher,  he  says :  "It  is  evident  that  the  means  of  ob- 
taining an  education  are  exceedingly  limited  and  that  the 
facilities  should  be  greatly  increased,  that  opportunities 
for  learning  should  be  given  to  all,  to  the  poor  as  well  as 
the  rich,  and  if  possible  a  school  placed  in  every  town  and 
neighborhood  of  the  Territory.  If  our  government  here 
is  to  be  republican,  if  it  is  to  be  based  upon  democratic 
principles;  and  if  the  will  of  the  majority  is  one  day  to 
be  law  of  the  land  and  the  government  of  the  people,  it 
is  most  important  for  this  will  to  be  properly  exercised. 
The  people  must  be  enlightened  and  instructed  so  that 
every  man  shall  be  able  to  read  and  inform  himself  of  mat- 
ters important  to  his  country  and  his  government.  It  is 
true  that  the  available  means  which  could  be  applied  at 


8  THE   BEGINNING   OF   THE   STRUGGLE. 

present  to  the  cause  of  education  are  small.  But  for  the 
promotion  of  so  desirable  an  object  they  should  be  both 
increased  and  economized.  All  that  the  legislature  can 
do  for  the  cause  of  education  of  the  people  is  most  earnest- 
ly pressed  upon  them,  and  to  this  object  I  give  my  hearty 
approval  and  co-operation/' 

Thus  the  first  official  utterance  in -New  Mexican  legis- 
lative halls  was  for  education  and  progress. 


CONVENTION   OF    1848. 

CHAPTER  II. 


CO:NTENTION  OF  1848. 

The  advice  of  Senator  Benton  was  quickly  followed.  New 
Mexico  was  without  any  legal  government  since  the  Treaty 
of  Guaclahipe  Hidalgo  had  ended  the  regime  of  military 
occupation,  and  the  continuance  of  the  de  facto  military 
authority  was  but  a  temporary  make-shift  justifiable  by 
the  peculiar  conditions.  The  people  were  anxious  for  al- 
most any  form  of  government  which  would  be  regular  in 
form  and  civil  in  character. 

Under  call  from  Gov.  Vigil,  a  Convention  was  held  at 
Santa  Fe  on  Oct.  10th,  1848,  and  organized  by  the  election 
of  Antonio  Jose  Martinez  of  Taos  (the  celebrated  Padre 
Martinez)  as  President,  J.  M.  Giddings  as  Clerk,  Henry 
Henrie  as  Interpreter,  and  Thomas  White  as  doorkeeper. 
Gov.  Vigil  took  an  active  part  in  the  proceedings,  although, 
perhaps  from  a  strict  regard  for  the  proprieties  of  his  po- 
sition, he  did  not  sign  the  Petition  to  Congress. 

Francisco  Sarracino,  who  had  been  Governor  of  New 
Mexico  under  the  Mexican  regime,  in  1834,  Governor 
Vigil,  James  Quinn  and  Juan  Perea  were  appointed  a 
committee  to  draft  a  memorial  to  Congress  expressing  the 
views  of  the  Convention.  They  reported  a  form  of-  Peti- 
tion, which  was  unanimously  adopted,  which  looked  to  the 
immediate  establishment  of  a  Territorial  Government,  en- 
tirely civil  in  its  character,  which  then  appeared  the  most 
feasible  method  of  obtaining  relief  from  military  rule  and 
some  regular  legal  system,  by  act  of  Congress.  This  Peti- 
tion contained  the  following  paragraphs,  together  with 
others  of  less  importance: 

"We,  the  people  of  New  Mexico,  respectfully  petition 
Congress  for  the  speedy  organization  of  >a  territorial  civil 
government. 

"We  respectfully  petition  Congress  to  establish  a  gov- 
ernment putely  civil  in  its  character. 

"We  respectfully,  but  firmly,  protest  against  the  dismem- 


10  CONVENTION   OF   1848. 

berment  of  our  territory  in  favor  of  Texas  or  from  any 
cause. 

"We  do  not  desire  to  have  domestic  slavery  within  our 
borders;  and  until  the  time  shall  arrive  for  admission  into 
the  Union  of  States,  we  desire  to  be  protected  by  Con- 
gress against  the  introduction  of  slaves  into  the  Territory. 
"We  desire  a  local  legislature,  such  as  is  prescribed  by 
the  laws  of  New  Mexcio,  September  22,  184:6,  subject  to 
the  usual  veto  of  Congress. 

"We  desire  that  our  interests  be  represented  by  a  dele- 
gate admitted  to  a  seat  in  Congress." 

This  was  dated  October  14th,  1848,  and  was  signed  by 
the  following  members  of  the  convention : 

AXTOXIO  J.  MAETIXES. 

ELIAS  P.  WEST, 

JUAX  PEEEA, 

FEAXCISCO  SAEEACIXO. 

GEEGOEIO  VIGIL, 

EAMOX  LUXA. 

AXTOXIO  SAIS, 

SAXTIAGO  AECHULETA, 

JAMES  QUIXX, 

MAXUEL  A.  OTEEO. 

CHAELES  BEAUBIEX, 

JOSE  PLEY. 

On  motion  of  Gov.  Vigil,  it  was  determined  to  send 
copies  to  Senator  Benton  of  Missouri  and  Senator  Clay- 
ton of  Delaware,  with  the  request  that  they  represent  the 
interests  of  Xew  Mexico  in  the  Senate  until  it  should  have 
regularly  represented  members. 

It  is  recorded  in  Xiles'  Eegister,  Vol.  74,  p.  407,  that 
when  this  petition  was  received  and  read  in  the  Senate  on 
Dec.  13th,  it  caused  quite  a  storm  of  comment,  especially 
from  the  pro-slavery  senators,  who  were  astounded  at 
what  they  termed  "the  insolence"  of  the  language  of  the 
document. 

Xothing  resulted  from  the  action  of  this  convention,  and 
the  people  continued  to  be  very  restless  under  the  irregular 
authoritv  of  the  militarv  commanders.  Thev  were  divided 


CONVENTION   OF   1848.  11 

into  two  parties,  one  anxious  for  Statehood,  and  the  other 
believing  that  a  regular  territorial  organization  was  all 
that  could  be  obtained  and  that  therefore  their  efforts 
should  be  bent  in  that  direction. 

But  in  fact  the  wishes  of  the  people  of  New  Mexico  were 
considered  in  Washington  then  but  little  more  than  in 
more  modern  days,  and  the  Territory  was  only  a  pawn 
in  the  game  of  national  politics  and  in  the  mighty  conflict 
between  the  slave  power  and  the  aroused  sentiment  in  favor 
of  freedom. 

The  South  had  brought  about  the  annexation  of  Texas, 
and  followed  it  up  by  the  war  against  Mexico,  in  order  to 
acquire  a  vast  additional  area  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line  supposed  to  be  suited  to  slave  labor  and  expected  to 
be  cut  up  into  future  slave  states.  But  there  was  disap- 
pointment as  to  the  anticipated  results.  The  discovery  of 
gold  in  California  had  led  to  a  phenomenal  emigration  to 
the  Pacific,  largely  from  the  North  and  opposed  to  slav- 
ery. The  rapid  increase  of  population  there  made  it  al- 
most impossible  to  refuse  Statehood  to  the  Golden  State, 
and  the  only  way  to  keep  even  a  balance  between  the  sec- 
tions was  to  form  a  slave  State  in  New  Mexico.  But  to 
the  surprise  of  the  southern  leaders,  it  was  found  that 
the  Mexican  population  was  unalterably  opposed  to  slavery. 
In  the  very  first  New  Mexican  convention,  as  we  have 
just  seen,  they  spoke  on  that  subject  in  no  uncertain  tones. 

The  situation  was  further  complicated  by  the  claim  of 
Texas  to  the  ownership  of  all  the  Territory  east  of  the 
Eio  Grande,  which  was  vigorously  maintained  by  the  Lone 
Star  State.  Though  without  any  foundation  in  law  or 
history,  and  absurd  in  view  of  the  fact  that  for  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  years  New  Mexico  had  existed  as  it  does  to- 
day, on  both  sides  of  the  Elver  and  with  its  capital  and 
chief  towns  on  the  east  side,  and  that  its  authorities 
through  all  that  period  had  exercised  undisputed  authority 
over  the  country  east  of  the  Eio  Grande,  as  far  as  the 
European  settlements  extended,  and  on  the  buffalo  plains 
as  far  as  the  western  line  of  the  great  domain  then  known 
as  Louisiana,  yet  the  United  States,  by  assuming  in  the 


12  CONVENTION   OF   1848. 

Mexican  War  that  Texas  rightfully  included  the  country 
between  the  Xueces  and  the  Rio  Grande,  had  given  its 
claim  a  kind  of  endorsement  which  now  was  a  source  of 
much  embarrassment  and  of  most  animated  debates  in 
Congress.  Thus  the  fate  of  Xew  Mexico  depended  far 
more  on  the  strength  of  sectional  divisions  and  the  exigen- 
cies of  party  policies  in  Washington,  than  on  the  acts  and 
wishes  of  it?  own  people. 


CONVENTION    OF    1849. 

CHAPTEE  III. 


CONVENTION  OF  1849. 

Still  these  people  were  unceasing  in  their  struggles  to 
obtain  some  regular  form  of  government  under  which  their 
rights  should  be  protected. 

In  deference  to  this  sentiment,  in  the  summer  of  1849, 
Lieut.  Col.  Beall,  acting  as  Governor  during  the  absence 
of  Col.  Washington,  issued  a  proclamation  for  the  election 
of  Delegates  to  a  Convention  to  consider  a  plan  for  the 
civil  government  of  New  Mexico.  This  convention  con- 
sisted of  nineteen  Delegates,,  apportioned  among  the  seven 
counties  into  which  the  Territory  was  then  divided;  and 
it  met  at  Santa  Fe  on  the  24th  of  September.  The  Journal 
of  this  interesting  body  has  recently  been  re-printed  by  the 
Historical  Society  of  New  Mexico,  .as  its  publication  No. 
10^  from  the  original  document  presented  in  Congress, 
Feb. '25,  1850,  and  printed  as  H.  E.  Mis.  Doc,  No.  39, 
31st  Cong.  1st.  Ses. 

The  record  is  entitled  as  follows : 

JOURNAL   AND    PROCEEDINGS    OF   A   CONVEN- 
TION OF  DELEGATES  ELECTED 

By  the  people  of  New  Mexico,  held  at  Santa  Fe  on  the 
24th  of  September,  1849,  presenting  a  plan  for  a  civil 
government  of  said  Territory  of  New  Mexico  and  asking 
the  action  of  Congress  thereon. 

Convention  held  at  the  city  of  Santa  Fe,  Territory  of 
New  Mexico,  composed  of  delegates  elected  by  the  people 
of  the  different  counties,  in  conformity  with  the  proclama- 
tion of  Lieutenant  Colonel  Beall,  civil  and  military  com- 
mandant of  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  in  the  absence 
of  Lieutenant  Colonel  J.  M.  Washington,  civil  and  mili- 
tary governor. 

The  following  was  the  membership  of  the  Convention 
by  Counties : 

Kernalillo — Manuel   Armijo  y  Mestas,  Ambrosio    Armijo 
V  Ortiz. 


14  CONVENTION   OF   1849. 

liio  Arriba — Joseph  Xangle,  Salvador  Lucero. 
>Vm  Miguel — Gregorio  Vigil,  Manuel  Antonio  Baca. 
$anta  Ana — Miguel  Montoya,  Francisco  Tomas  Baca. 
tianta  Fe — Manuel   Alvarez,   E.   Vaudry   Deroin,   W.    Z. 

Angney. 
Taos — Ceran  St.   Vrain,  Antonio  Jose  Martin,    Antonio 

Leroux. 

Valencia — Juan  Jose  Sanches,  William  Curtis  Skinner, 
Mariano  Silva,  Antonio  Jose  Otero,  Manuel 
Antonio  Otero. 

On  motion  of  Ceran  St.  Vrain,  the  Rev.  Cura  Antonio 
Jose  Martinez  was  unanimously  elected  President;  but  in 
the  subsequent  election  and  other  votes  there  was  a  uniform 
division  of  fifteen  to  four,  the  minority  consisting  of  the 
three  Santa  Fe  members,  Alvarez,  Deroin,  arid  Angney, 
and  Dr.  Xangle  of  Eio  Arriba. 

The  Convention  elected  a  Delegate  to  represent  New 
Mexico  in  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  Hugh  X. 
Smith  being  chosen  for  that  position;  and  subsequently 
named  ex-Governor  Francisco  Sarracino  as  "alternate 
delegate/7 

A  committee  of  five  was  then  appointed  to  report  the 
basis  of  a  constitution  for  the  government  of  the  Territory 
and  instructions  for  the  delegate  to  Congress. 

On  the  third  day  of  the  Session,  by  invitation,  his  Ex- 
cellency Gov.  Washington,  Hon.  Joab  Houghton,  Justice 
of  the  Supreme  Court,  and  Hon.  Donaciano  Vigil,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Territory,  appeared  and  were  escorted  by  a  com- 
mittee to  seats  with  the  President. 

The  plan  of  government,  or  constitution,  adopted  as  a 
recommendation  to  Congress,  shows  excellent  judgment, 
and  was  largely  followed  in  the  provisions  of  the  Organic 
Act  of  1850.  It  is  brief  and  left  all  details  to  be  settled 
by  subsequent  legislation.  The  following  provisions  may 
be  cited  as  showing  both  good  sense  and  foresight : 

"Art.  II.  Sec.  15.  Xo  person  who  now  is,  or  hereafter 
may  be,  a  collector  or  holder  of  public  money,  or  assistant 
or  deputy  thereof,  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office  of  profit  or 
trust,  until  he  shall  have  accounted  for,  and  paid  over  all 


CONVENTION   OF   1849.  15 

moneys  for  which  he  may  be  acountable  as  such  collector 
or  holder;  and  no  person  who  shall  have  directly  or  in- 
directly given  any  bribe  to  procure  his  election  or  appoint- 
ment to  any  office,  or  who  shall  have  been  convicted  of  per- 
jury or  other  infamous  crime,,  shall  be  eligible  to  any  office 
of  honor,  profit,  or  trust  within  this  territory,  or  shall  be 
allowed  the  right  of  suffrage. 

"Art.  III.  Sec.  2.  The  supreme  court  shall  consist 
of  four  judges,  one  to  be  supreme  or  appellate  judge,  and 
the  other  three  to  be  district  judges,  for  the  hearing  and 
adjudication  of  law  cases,  and  associates  of  the  supreme 
judge  in  all  cases  of  appeal;  and  the  judge  who  tried  the 
case  shall  not  be  allowed  to  sit  in  the  appellate  court." 

The  instructions  given  to  the  delegates  were  practical, 
and  were  introduced  by  a  preamble  which  sets  forth  in 
such  strong  terms  the  unfortunate  situation  of  the  people 
that  it  isi  worthy  of  reproduction.  It  reads  as  follows : 

INSTKUCTIONS    AS    ADOPTED    BY    THE    CON- 
VENTION. 

"We,  the  people  of  New  Mexico,  in  convention  assembled, 
having  elected  a  delegate  to  represent  this  Territory  in  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  to  urge  upon  the  su- 
preme government  a  redress  of  our  grievances,  and  the 
protection  due  to  us  as  citizens  of  our  common  country, 
under  the  constitution,  instruct  him  as  follows:  That 
whereas,  for  the  last  three  years,  we  have  suffered  under 
the  paralyzing  effects  of  a  government  undefined  and 
doubtful  in  its  character,  inefficient  to  protect  the  rights 
of  the  people,  or  to  discharge  the  high  and  absolute  duty 
of  every  government,  the  enforcement  and  regular  admin- 
istration of  its  own  laws,  in  consequence  of  which,  indus- 
try and  enterprise  are  paralyzed,  and  discontent  and  con- 
fusion prevail  throughout  the  land;  the  want'  of  proper 
protection  against  the  various  barbarous  tribes  of  Indians 
that  surround  us  on  every  side,  has  prevented  the  exten- 
sion of  settlements  upon  our  valuable  public  domain,  and 
rendered  utterly  futile  every  attempt  to  explore  or  de- 
velop the  great  resources  of  the  territory;  surrounded  by 


16  CONVENTION    OF    ltt-49 

the  Eutaws,  Comanches,  and  Apaches,  on  the  north,  east 
and  south.,  by  the  Xavajos  on  the  west,  with  Jicarillas  with- 
in our  limits,  and  without  any  adequate  protection  against 
their  hostile  inroads;  our  flocks  and  herds  are  driven  off 
lry  thousands,  our  fellow-citizens,  men,  women  and  children 
are  murdered  or  carried  into  captivity;  many  of  our  citi- 
zens of  all  ages  and  sexes  are  at  this  moment  suffering  all 
the  horrors  of  barbarian  bondage,  and  it  is  utterly  out  of 
our  power  to  obtain  their  release  from  a  condition  to  which 
death  would  be  preferable;  the  wealth  of  our  territory  is 
being  diminished;  we  have  neither  the  means  nor  any 
adopted  plan  by  government  for  the  education  of  the  ris- 
ing generation;  in  fine,  with  a  government  temporary, 
doubtful,  uncertain,  and  inefficient  in  character  and  in 
operation,  surrounded  and  despoiled  by  barbarous  foes,  ruin 
appears  inevitably  before  us,  unless  speedy  and  effectual 
protection  be  extended  to  us  by  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States." 

The  delegate  was  instructed  particularly,  as  follows,  as 
to  the  form  of  government  desired : 

"That,  in  case  a  territorial  government  may  be  obtained, 
he  shall  prefer  it  to  a  state  government,  and  shall  take  for 
his  grounds  the  late  act  constituting  the  people  of  Minne- 
sota into  a  territorial  government,  and  shall  insist  upon 
provisions  at  least  as  favorable." 

"But  in  case  the  obtention  of  a  territorial  government, 
be  not  feasible,  but  that  of  a  state  government  be  practic- 
able, he  shall  accept  one,  and  proceed  to  its  organization; 
taking  for  his  model  the  present  constitution  of  Missouri, 
so  far  as  the  same  is  applicable  to  our  condition." 


C/TrtU^    &t^< 


Ballot  at  First  Statehood  Election.  1850, 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1850.  17 

CHAPTEE  IV. 


THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  1850  AND  FIRST  STATE 
GOVERNMENT. 

Meanwhile  the  discussion  of  the  status  of  the  vast  do- 
main recently  acquired  from  Mexico  continued  in  Congress 
almost  incessantly  and  with  considerable  bitterness,  on 
national  and  political  lines.  There  seems  to  be  no  doubt 
that  Gen.  Taylor,  from  the  time  that  he  became  president 
in  March,  1849,  was  anxious  for  the  admission  of  both 
California  and  New  Mexico  as  States,  in  order  to  settle 
the  question  of  slavery  which  was  causing  increasing  ex- 
citement. 

In  his  message  to  Congress  he  frankly  announced  this 
policy.  He  said :  "I  did  not  hesitate  to  express  to  the  peo- 
ple of  those  territories  my  desire  that  each  territory  should, 
if  prepared  to  comply  with  the  requirements  of  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States,,  form  a  plan  of  a  State  Con- 
stitution and  submit  the  same  to  Congress  wih  a  prayer 
for  admission  into  the  Union  as  a  State." 

In  the  annual  message  of  December  4,  1849,  he  again 
evinced  his  interest  by  saying :  "The  people  of  New  Mexico 
will  also,  it  is  believed,  at  no  very  distant  period,  present 
themselves  for  admission." 

In  the  spring  of  1849,  James  S.  Calhoun,  afterwards 
the  first  Governor  under  the  Organic  Act,  was  sent  to  New 
Mexico  as  Indian  agent,  but  with  semi-official  instructions 
to  favor  the  organization  of  a  State  government,  In  this 
he  was  actively  aided  by  Manuel  Alvarez,  Angney,  Pillans, 
etc.,  while  Ceran  St.  Vrain,  Judge  Houghton,  Carlos 
Beaubien,  etc.,  favored  a  territorial  form  of  government. 

That  the  national  government  expected  and  desired  the 
people  to  take  the  initiative  in  the  matter,  which  down  to 
that  time  had  been  the  usual  method  of  obtaining  admission 
to  the  Union,  instead  of  awaiting  an  "enabling  act"  from 
Congress;  and  that  the  right  of  New  Mexico  to  Statehood 
was  generally  admitted  even  at  that  early  date,  is  obvious 
from  the  instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  War  (George  W. 


18  CONSTITUTION   OF   1850. 

Crawford)  to  Lieut.  Col.  McCall,  dated  Xov.  9,  1849, 
when  the  latter  was  on  his  way  to  Xew  Mexico.  Their  pur- 
port will  be  seen  from  the  following  extract: 

"Since  their  annexation  these  territories  in  respect  to 
their  civil  government  have  in  a  great  measure  depended 
on  the  officers  of  the  army  there  in  command.  This  con- 
dition has  arisen  from  the  omission  of  Congress  to  provide 
suitable  governments;  and  in  regard  to  the  future  there 
is  reason  to  believe  that  the  difficulties  of  the  past  are  still 
to  be  encountered.  It  is  not  doubted  that  the  people  of 
Xew  Mexico  desire  and  want  a  government  organized.  The 
question  readily  recurs  how  that  government  can  be  sup- 
plied. It  is  therefore  deemed  proper  that  I  should  say 
that  it  is  not  believed  that  the  people  of  Xew  Mexico  are 
required  to  await  the  movements  of  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment in  relation  to  a  plan  of  government  for  the  regula- 
tion of  their  own  internal  concerns.  The  Constitution  of 
the  United  States  and  the  late  Treaty  with  Mexico  guar- 
antee their  admission  into  the  Union  of  our  States,  subject 
only  to  the  judgment  of  Congress.  Should  the  people  of 
Xew  Mexico  wish  to  take  any  steps  towards  this  object,  it 
will  be  your  duty  and  the  duty  of  others  with  whom  you 
are  associated,  not  to  thwart  but  to  advance  their  wishes. 
It  is  their  right  to  appear  before  Congress  and  ask  for  ad- 
mission into  the  Union." 

Soon  after  his  arrival,  Col.  McCall  spread  abroad  the  in- 
formation that  Congress  did  not  favor  a  territorial  form 
of  government  but  that  President  Taylor  was  very  anxious 
that  Xew  Mexico  should  immediately  become  a  State.  Let- 
ters of  the  same  purport  were  also  received  from  Delegate 
Smith,  who  remained  in  Washington,  although  he  had  not 
been  admitted  to  a  seat  in  Congress;  receiving  86  votes 
against  92,  on  the  final  action. 

The  result  was  that  all  parties  united  in  the  desire  for 
a  Constitutional  Convention,  and  an  important  meeting 
was  held  in  Santa  Fe  on  April  the  20th,  1850,  where  reso- 
lutions to  that  effect  were  adopted,  and  Col.  Monroe,  then 
Military  Governor,  was  requested  to  issue  a  proclamation 
calling  for  an  election  of  delegates. 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1850.  19 

This  he  did  in  April,  1850,,  and  a  regular  Constitutional 
Convention  was  elected,  and  commenced  its  session  on  May 
15,  1850.  James  H.  Quinn  was  elected  president  of  the 
convention.  The  convention  sat  for  ten  days  and  succeeded 
in  formulating  a  Constitution  which  all  concede  to  be  an 
admirable  instrument.  It  was  dated  May  25,  and  when 
printed  was  accompanied  by  an  address,  explanatory  of 
some  of  its  provisions  as  well  as  of  the  general  advantages 
of  Statehood,  as  excellent  in  its  substance  and  tone  as  the 
Constitution  itself. 

The  two  features  which  naturally  attract  most  attention 
are  the  clear  declaration  against  slavery  in  the  new  State, 
and  the  appreciation  shown  of  the  value  of  public  educa- 
tion. Besides  the  section  of  the  Constitution  forever  pro- 
hibiting slavery  in  New  Mexico,  there  was  a  strong  para- 
graph on  that  subject  in  the  accompanying  address  show- 
ing that  slavery  had  always  been  the  curse  of  the  communi- 
ties in  which  it  existed. 

It  is  an  evidence  of  the  courage  and  high  principle  of 
the  convention  which  formulated  the  Constitution,  that  at 
that  time,  when  the  debate  on  slavery  was  raging  in  Con- 
gress, when  they  knew  that  the  slave  power  was  determined 
to  have  a  new  slave  State  to  balance  California,  and  that 
if  they  declared  for  slavery  they  would  be  admitted  in  a 
moment;  they  sacrificed  their  prospects  of  immediate  ad- 
mission to  the  higher  duty  of  protecting  their  cherished 
land  from  the  incubus  and  wrong  of  human  bondage.  It 
should  never  be  forgotten  that  this  first  Constitutional 
Convention  in  New  Mexico,  in  which  native  New  Mexicans 
composed  over  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  membership,  took 
this  high  ground  and  maintained  it  courageously,  although 
by  so  doing  they  were  placing  in  jeopardy  their  own  right 
to  self  government. 

On  May  28th,  Col.  Monroe,  the  Military  Governor,  is- 
sued his  proclamation  calling  for  an  election  on  the  adop- 
tion of  the  Constitution  to  be  held  on  June  20th?  and  also 
a  vote  on  a  separate  ballot  "for  governor,  lieutenant  gover- 
nor, representative  to  Congress,  and  for  senators  and  rep- 
resentatives to  a  State  Legislature  to  convene  at  the  capital 


20  CONSTITUTION   OF   1850. 

on  Monday  the  first  day  of  July  next.  It  being  provided: 
and  understood  that  the  election  of  all  officers  can  only 
be  valid  by  the  adoption  of  a  constitution  by  the  people, 
and  otherwise  null  and  void;  and  that  all  action  of  the 
governor,  lieutenant  governor,  and  of  the  legislature  shall 
remain  inoperative  until  New  Mexico  be  admitted  as  a 
State  under  said  Constitution.,  except  such  acts  as  may  be 
necessary  for  the  primary  steps  of  organization  and  the 
presentation  of  said  Constitution  properly  before  the  Con- 
gress of  the  United  States.  The  present  government  shall 
remain  in  full  force  until,  by  the  action  of  Congress,  an- 
other shall  be  substituted/7 

The  proclamation  was  thus  carefully  worded  in  order  to 
express  the  opinion  of  Gov.  Monroe  as  to  the  effect  of  the 
election  and  the  powers  of  the  new  State  official*,  an 
opinion  to  which  he  adhered  without  deviation  to  the  end. 
In  this  the  Military  Governor  of  New  Mexico  differed 
widely  from  similar  officials  in  California,  where  Gov. 
Eiley  in  his  proclamation  of  election  clearly  expressed  his 
intention  to  surrender  his  authority  to  the  new  State  Gov- 
ernor, if  the  Constitution  should  be  adopted,  and  actually 
carried  out  that  promise. 

In  New  Mexico,  there  was  no  real  contest  over  the  Con- 
/stitution,  which  seems  to  have  been  universally  approved; 
the  vote  in  favor  of  its  adoption  being  8,371  against  39 
opposed.  But  for  State  and  local  officers  there  was  the 
usual  political  contest.  The  candidates  for  governor  and 
lieutenant  or  vice  governor  on  one  ticket  were  Henry  Con- 
nelly, a  well  known  merchant  of  the  Santa  Fe  trail,  and 
Manuel  Alvarez,  for  many  years  U.  S.  Consul  at  Santa  Fe; 
while  opposed  to  them  were  Tomas  Cabeza  de  Baca  and 
Ceran  St.  Vrain.  A  few  of  the  ballots  used  at  this  first 
State  election  are  still  in  existence,  in  the  collection  of  the 
New  Mexico  Historical  Society,  and  are  written  on  paper 
of  uniform  size.  Those  that  are  preserved  were  for  Santa 
Fe  County,  and  are  "split"  as  to  some  of  the  candidates, 
being  for  Baca  for  Governor,  and  Alvarez  for  Yice-Gover- 
iior,  probably  a  popular  combination  in  that  locality.  Con- 
nelly and  Alvarez  were  elected  by  a  considerable  majority. 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1850.  21 

So  strongly  contested  was  this  first  State  election  that 
a  contest  was  made  before  the  Senate  by  Murray  F.  Tuley. 
Levi  D.  Keithley  and  Donaciano  Vigil,  claiming  the  seats 
for  which  Joseph  Wangle,  Domingo  Baca  and  Jose  F. 
Leiba  received  certificates  from  the  district  composed  of 
Santa  Fe,  San  Miguel  and  Santa  Ana  counties.  This  Mur- 
ray F.  Tuley  was  the  same  who  afterwards  achieved  wide 
celebrity  as  a  judge  in  Chicago,  occupying  the  bench  there 
for  over  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

The  legislature  met  on  the  4th  of  July  and  continued  in 
session  over  a  week.  It  elected  Francis  A.  Cunningham 
and  Richard  H.  Weightman,  United  States  Senators ;  made 
various  appointments,  ordered  an  election  for  local  officials 
in  August,  organized  the  County  of  Socorro,  and  proceeded 
to  enact  general  legislation.  This  was  entirely  contrary  to 
the  language  of  Gov.  Monroe's  proclamation,  and  assumed 
that  the  State  was  actually  established,  and  its  govern- 
ment fully  organized,  without  any  Congressional  action. 

A  controversy  immediately  arose  between  Alvarez,  act- 
ing as  State  Governor,  while  Connelly  was  absent  in  the 
east,  and  Col.  Monroe,  the  Military  and  Civil  Governor  of 
the  Territory.  Both  were  able  men  and  sustained  their 
respective  positions  with  vigor.  On  July  6th,  Alvarez  sent 
to  Monroe  a  long  defense  of  the  course  of  the  State  gov- 
ernment. He  claimed  that  the  people  had  a  right  to  or- 
ganize a  civil  government  without  consulting  the  military 
authorities;  that  any  private  citizen  might  have  issued  the 
proclamation;  that  in  the  absence  of  Congressional  legisla- 
tion, the  people  of  New  Mexico  had  as  good  a  right  to  form 
or  remodel  their  own  system,  or  establish  a  new  one,  as 
the  people  of  New  York  or  Virginia;  that  Monroe's  civil 
power  could  be  no  greater  than  that  of  the  President,  and 
that  the  President  had  never  pretended  to  have  the  power 
to  make  a  government  for  New  Mexico  or  insist  on  the  old 
one;  that  the  President's  instructions,  and  all  others  from 
Washington,  simply  advised  temporary  submission  to  the 
old  government  as  existing  by  presumed  consent  of  the 
people.  That  consent  had  been  withdrawn  and  a  new  gov- 
ernment organized,  which  must  be  recognized  until  Con- 
gress should  refuse  to  sanction  it." 


22  CONSTITUTION  OF   1850. 

On  July  12th  Col.  Monroe  answered,  insisting  on  ad- 
herence to  the  terms  of  his  original  proclamation  and  on 
a  continuance  of  the  old  regime  pending  Congressional 
action. 

Gov.  Alvarez  immediately  replied,  deploring  the  con- 
troversy,, but  asserting  that  the  people  cannot  surrender 
their  dearest  rights. 

On  the  15th,  the  Senate  and  House  of  the  State  Legisla- 
ture passed  resolutions  endorsing  the  action  of  Gov.  Al- 
varez, signed  by  W.  Z.  Angney,  president  of  the  Senate, 
and  Joseph  Nangle,  speaker  of  the  House. 

On  the  23rd,  Col.  Monroe,  by  Donaciano  Vigil,  Secre- 
tary of  the  Territory,  sent  a  circular  letter  to  the  Prefects 
of  all  the  counties,  informing  them  that  "the  State  gov- 
ernment of  New  Mexico  has  no  legal  existence  until  New 
Mexico  shall  be  admitted  into  the  Union  as  a  State  by 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States;  and  that,  until  other- 
wise deermined  by  competent  authority,  the  present  gov- 
ernment continues  and  will  be  sustained." 

As  the  time  for  the  local  elections  under  the  State  legis- 
lative Act  approached,  a  compromise  was  effected  in  order 
to  allay  the  popular  excitement.  The  legislature  adopted 
a  joint  resolution  stating  that  "no  officer,  elective  or  ap- 
pointive, under  the  State  government,  will  attempt  to  exer- 
cise any  jurisdicion  until  after  November  first  or  until 
duly  commissioned  to  act  as  such";  and  on  August  9,  Col. 
Monroe  responded  by  another  letter  from  Secretary  Vigil 
to  the  Prefects,  instructing  them  that  no  obstacle  should 
be  offered  to,  and  no  part  taken  in,  the  State  election  on 
the  12th,  but  that  the  officials  elected  were  not  to  be  recog- 
nized. Thus  any  real  conflict  was  avoided,  until  the  news 
arrived  by  the  slow  mails  across  the  plains,  that  Congress 
had  passed  the  so-called  Compromise  Measures  of  1850, 
which  settled  the  whole  matter. 

Under  their  provisions  California  was  admitted  as  a 
free  State ;  New  Mexico  and  Utah,  covering  all  the  remain- 
ing area  acquired  from  Mexico,  were  made  into  territories, 
with  no  mention  of  slavery;  Texas  abandoned  her  claim  on 
Xew  Mexico  east  of  the  Eio  Grande,  and  received  a  large 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1850.  23 

sum  as  compensation  for  that  concession.  These  measures 
were  signed  by  the  President  on  September  9,  1850,  and 
effectually  ended  the  career  of  the  new  State  of  New  Mex- 
ico and  the  work  of  the  Convention  in  1850.  The  two 
senators-elect  had  proceeded  across  the  plains  as  far  as 
Independence,  Missouri,  before  they  received  the  news 
which  blighted  their  hopes  of  high  official  life. 

William  S.  Meservey,  who  had  been  elected  member  of 
the  House  at  the  June  election,  continued  his  journey  to 
Washington,  and  succeeded  in  being  recognized  and  ad- 
mitted as  Delegate  from  the  Territory  instead  of  Eepresen- 
tative  of  the  State. 

The  President  appointed  James  S.  Calhoun-  first  Gov- 
ernor of  the  Xew  Territory  under  the  Organic  Act,  and 
the  entire  territorial  government  was  put  into  operation 
in  March,  1851.  The  people  settled  down  to  a  new  order 
of  things*,  and  nothing  was  heard  of  Statehood  for  several 
years.  Then  came  the  great  Rebellion,  and  the  attention 
of  the  people  was  fully  occupied  in  their  defense  against 
the  invasion  of  the  Texans  and  in  the  wars  with  the  In- 
dian tribes  which  practically  encircled  the  Territory. 


24  LEGISLATIVE   EFFORT,    1872. 

CHAPTER  V. 


LEGISLATIVE  EFFORT  AND  CONSTITUTION  OF 

1872. 

The  next  formal  action  looking  towards  Statehood  was 
early  in  1866.,  when  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authoriz- 
ing the  Governor  to  call  a  Constitutional  Convention,  to 
be  elected  on  the  first  Monday  in  March  and  to  meet  in 
the  City  of  Santa  Fe;  the  Constitution  formulated  to  be 
submitted  to  a  vote  of  the  people  on  the  fourth  Monday 
in  June.  Apparently  nothing  of  a  practical  nature  was 
accomplished  under  this  law. 

On  February  3,  1870,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  pro- 
viding for  an  election  to  be  held  on  the  first  Monday  in 
October  of  that  year  for  the  purpose  of  submitting  a  State 
constitution  and  electing  the  State  officers  and  legislature 
provided  for  therein.  The  Governor  was  required  to  issue 
a  proclamation  for  the  election  thirty  days  before  its  occur- 
rence. The  preamble  to  the  Act  reads  as  follows :  "Where- 
as, We,  the  members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  the 
Territory  of  Xew  Mexico,  as  the  representatives  of  the 
people,  after  due  consideration  of  the  best  interests  of  Xew 
Mexico  that  the  present  circumstances  and  condition  of 
the  country  will  permit,  have  considered  it  best  to  submit 
for  the  consideration  of  the  people,  a  constitution  which 
appears  to  us  proper  and  in  which  is  embodied  the  funda- 
mental principles  of  a  free  and  sovereign  State,  etc."  From 
this  it  appears  that  the  Constitution  had  been  already  pre- 
pared when  the  Act  was  passed ;  but  nothing  seems  to  have 
resulted  from  this  attempt  to  secure  self-government. 

To  remedy  this  failure,  the  succeeding  legislature  took 
up  the  subject  early  in  the  session  and  passed  a  bill  which 
wras  approved  by  the  Governor  on  February  1.  1872,  en- 
titled "An  Act  providing  for  a  General  Election  for  the 
Purpose'  of  Submitting  to  a  Vote  of  the  People  a  State 
Constitution  and  State  Officers.*'  After  a  Preamble  which 
states,  among  other  things  that  the  Legislature  is  satisfied 
that  a  majority  of  the  people  desire  a  State  Government, 


LEGISLATIVE  EFFORT,   1872.  25 

the  law  provided  that  a  General  Election  should  be  held  on 
the  first  Monday  in  June,  1872,  "for  the  purpose  of  sub- 
mitting to  a  vote  of  the  people  the  State  Constitution 
drafted  at  the  present  term  of  the  Legislative  Assembly." 

Section  five  reads  as  follows :  "If  a  majority  of  the  votes 
cast  be  in  favor  of  the  Constitution  and  a  State,  the  Gov- 
ernor is  hereby  required  to  issue  his  proclamation  on  the 
second  Monday  of  July  announcing  the  result  of  said  elec- 
tion, and  ordering  another  election,  which  shall  be  held 
on  the  first  Monday  in  September,  for  the  object  of  elect- 
ing under  said  Constitution  a  Governor,  Lieutenant  Gov- 
ernor, Secretary  of  State,  Auditor,  Treasurer,  Attorney 
General,  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction,  and  also 
members  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  and  also  a  Repre- 
sentative to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States." 

The  Constitution  that  was  thus  submitted  w.as  printed  in 
a  pamphlet  of  forty- seven  pages  and  was  a  comprehensive 
and  well  arranged  document,  creditable  to  those  who  pre- 
pared and  adopted  it. 

For  the  purpose  of  showing  the  excellent  character  of 
this  Constitution,  fully  abreast  of  the  times  and  in  every 
respect  in  advance  of  many  of  the  Constitutions  existing 
in  1872,  the  following  sections  are  extracted: 

CONSTITUTION  OF  1872. 
ART.  IV. 

Sec.  3.  *  *  "Xo  judge  or  clerk  of  any  court,  secretary 
of  state,  attorney  general,  state's  attorney,  recorder,  sheriff 
or  collector  of  public  revenue,  member  of  either  house  of 
congress,  or  person  holding  any  lucrative  office  under  the 
United  States,  this  state,  or  any  foreign  government,  shall 
have  a  seat  in  the  General  Assembly;" 

PASSAGE  OF  BILLS. 
ART.  IV. 

Sec.  6.  *  *  "Every  bill  shall  be  read  at  large  on  three 
different  days,  in  each  house,  and  the  bill,  and  all  amend- 
ments thereto,  shall  be  printed  before  the  vote  is  taken 
on  its  final  passage;  and  every  bill  having  passed  both 
houses  shall  be  signed  by  the  speakers  thereof." 


26  LEGISLATIVE   EFFORT,    1872. 

PRIVILEGES  AND  DISABILITIES. 

"No  person  -elected  to  the  General  Assembly  shall  receive 
any  civil  appointment  within  this  state  from  the  governor 
and  senate,  or  from  the  General  Assembly,  during  the 
term  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  and  all  such 
appointments,  and  all  votes  given  for  any  such  members 
for  any  such  office  or  appointment  shall  be  void;  nor  shall 
any  member  of  the  General  Assembly  be  interested,  either 
directly  or  indirectly,  in  any  contract  with  the  state,  or 
any  county  thereof,  authorized  by  any  law  passed  during 
the  term  for  which  he  shall  have  been  elected,  or  within 
one  year  after  the  expiration  thereof." 

PUBLIC  MONEYS  AND  APPROPRIATIONS. 

"No  money  shall  be  drawn  from  the  treasury  except  in 
pursuance  of  an  appropriation  made  by  law,  and  on  the 
presentation  of  an  account  issued  by  the  auditor  thereon; 
and  no  money  shall  be  diverted  from  any  appropriation 
made  for  any  purpose,  or  taken  from  any  fund  whatever, 
either  by  joint  or  separate  resolution." 

"The  General  Assembly  shall  never  grant  or  authorize 
extra  compensation,  fee  or  allowance  to  any  public  officer, 
agent,  servant,  or  contractor,  after  service  has  been  ren- 
dered, or  a  contract  made;  nor  authorize  the  payment  of 
any  claim,  or  part  thereof,  hereafter  created  against  the 
state  under  any  agreement  or  contract  made  without  ex- 
press authority  of  law;  and  all  such  unauthorized  agree- 
ments or  contracts  shall  be  null  and  void." 

"The  state  shall  never  pay,  assume  or  become  responsible 
for  the  debts  or  liabilities  of,  or  in  any  manner  give,  loan 
or  extend  its  credit  to  or  in  aid  of,  any  public  or  other  cor- 
poration, association  or  individual." 

SPECIAL   LEGISLATION   PROHIBITED. 

"The  General  Assembly  shall  not  pass  local  or  special 
laws  in  any  of  the  following  enumerated  cases,  that  is  to 
say: 

"For  granting  divorces;  changing  the  names  of  persons 
or  places;  laying  out,  opening,  altering  and  working  roads 


LEGISLATIVE  EFFORT,    1872.  27 

or  highways;  vacating  roads,  town  plots,  streets  and  pub- 
lic grounds;  locating  or  changing  county  seats;  regulating 
county  and  township  affairs;  regulating  the  practice  in 
courts  of  justice;  regulating  the  jurisdiction  and  duties  of 
justices  of  the  peace,  police  magistrates  and  constables; 
providing  for  changes  of  venue  in  civil  and  criminal 
cases;  incorporating  cities,  towns  or  villages,,  or  changing 
or  amending  the  charter  of  any  city,  town  or  village ;  sum- 
moning and  empanneling  grand  or  petit  juries;  providing 
for  the  management  of  common  schools;  regulating  the 
interest  on  money;  the  opening  or  conducting  of  any  elec- 
tion, or  designating  the  place  of  voting;  the  sale  or  mort- 
gage of  real  estate  belonging  to  minors  or  others  under 
disability;  chartering  or  licensing  ferries  or  toll  bridges; 
remitting  fines,  penalties  or  forfeitures;  creating,  increas- 
ing or  decreasing  fees,  percentage  or  allowance  of  public 
officers,  during  the  term  for  which  said  officers  are  elected 
or  appointed ;  changing  the  law  of  descent ;  granting  to  any 
corporation,  association  or  individual  any  special  or  ex- 
clusive privilege,  immunity  or  franchise  whatever;  grant- 
ing to  any  corporation,  association  or  individual  the  right 
to  lay  <Jown  railroad  tracks,  or  amending  existing  char- 
ters for  such  purpose." 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

"The  General  Assembly  shall  have  no  power  to  authorize 
lotteries  or  gift  enterprises  for  any  purpose,  and  shall  pass 
laws  to  prohibit  the  sale  of  lottery  or  gift-enterprise  tick- 
ets in  this  state." 

EDUCATION. 

"Section  1.  The  General  Assembly  shall  provide  a 
thorough  and  efficient  system  of  free  schools  whereby  all 
the  children  of  this  state  may  receive  a  good  common 
school  education. 

"'Sec.  2.  All  lands,  money  or  other  property,  donated, 
granted  or  received,,  for  school,  'college,  seminary  or  uni- 
versity purposes,  and  the  proceeds  thereof,  shall  be  faith- 
fully applied  to  the  objects  for  which  such  gifts  or  grants 
were  made. 


28  LEGISLATIVE  EFFORT,    1872. 

Sec.  3.  Neither  the  General  Assembly,  nor  any  county, 
city,  town,  township,  school  district  or  other  public  cor- 
poration shall  ever  make  any  appropriation,  or  pay  from 
any  public  fund  whatever,  anything  in  aid  of  any  church 
or  sectarian  purpose,  or  help,  support  or  sustain  any  school, 
academy,  seminary,  college,  university  or  other  literary  or 
scientific  institution,  controlled  by  any  church  or  sectarian 
denomination  whatever,  nor  shall  any  grant  or  donation 
of  land,  money  or  other  personal  property  ever  be  made  by 
the  state  or  any  such  public  corporation,  to  any  church,  or 
for  any  sectarian  purpose. 

"Sec.  4.  No  teacher,  state,  county,  township,  or  dis- 
trict school  officer,  shall  be  interested  in  the  sale,  proceeds 
or  profits  of  any  book,  apparatus  or  furniture,  used  or  to 
be  used  in  any  school  in  this  state  with  which  such  officer 
or  teacher  may  be  connected,  under  such  penalties  as  may 
be  provided  by  the  General  Assembly." 

KEVENUE. 

"Sec.  12.  No  county,  city,  township,  school  district  or 
other  municipal  corporation  shall  be  allowed  to  become 
indebted  in  any  manner,  or  for  any  purpose,  to  an  amount, 
i including  existing  indebtedness,  in  the  aggregate'  exceed- 
ing five  per  centum  on  the  value  of  the  taxable  property 
therein;  to  be  ascertained  by  the  last  assessment  for  state 
and  county  taxes,  previous  to  the  incurring  of  such  indebt- 
edness/' 

COUNTY  SEATS. 

"No  county  seat  shall  be  removed  until  the  point  to  which 
it  is  proposed  to  be  removed  shall  be  fixed  in  pursuance  of 
law,  and  a  majority  of  the  votes  of  the  county  to  be  ascer- 
tained in  such  manner  as  shall  be  provided  by  general  law, 
shall  have  voted  in  favor  of  its  removal  to  such  point." 

KAILKOADS. 

"Sec.  4.  Eailroads  heretofore  constructed  or  hereafter 
to  be  constructed  in  this  state,  are  hereby  declared  public 
highways,  and  shall  be  free  to  all  persons  for  the  transpor- 
tation of  their  persons  and  property  thereon,  under  such 


LEGISLATIVE   EFFORT,    1872.  29 

regulations  as  may  be  prescribed  by  law.  And  the  General 
Assembly  shall  pass  such  laws  from  time  to  time,  estab- 
lishing reasonable  maximum  rates  of  charges  for  the  trans- 
poration  of  passengers  and  freight  on  the  different  rail- 
roads in  this  state. 

"Sec.  5.  No  railroad  corporation  shall  issue  any  stock 
or  bonds  except  for  money,  labor  or  property  actually  re- 
ceived and  applied  to  the  purposes  for  which  such  corpora- 
tion was  created;  and  all  stock  dividends  and  other  ficti- 
tious increase  of  the  capital  stock  or  indebtedness  of  any 
such  corporation  shall  be  void.  The  capital  stock  of  no 
railroad  corporation  shall  be  increased  for  any  purpose  ex- 
cept upon  giving  sixty  days  public  notice  in  such  manner 
as  may  be  provided  by  law. 

"Sec.  6.  The  exercise  of  the  power  and  right  of  emi- 
nent domain  shall  never  be  so  construed  or  abridged  as  to 
prevent  the  taking  by  the  General  Assembly  of  the  proper- 
ty and  franchises  of  incorporated  companies  already  or- 
ganized, and  subjecting  them  to  the  public  necessity,  the 
same  as  of  individuals.  The  right  of  trial  by  jury  shall 
be  held  inviolate  in  all  trials  of  claims  for  compensation., 
when  in  the  exercise  of  the  said  right  of  eminent  domain 
any  incorporated  company  shall  be  interested  either  for 
or  against  the  exercise  of  said  right. 

"Sec.  7.  The  General  Assembly  shall  pass  laws  to  correct 
abuses  and  prevent  unjust  discriminations  and  extortion 
in  the  rates  of  freight  and  passenger  tariffs  on  the  differ- 
ent railroads  in  this  state,  and  enforce  such  laws  by  ade- 
quate penalties,  to  the  extent,  if  necessary  for  that  pur- 
pose, of  the  forfeiture  of  their  property  and  franchise." 

JUDICIAL. 

"Sec.  10.  The  justices  of  the  supreme  court  and  district 
judges,,  shall  be  ineligible  to  any  office  other  than  a  judicial 
office,  during  the  term  for  which  they  shall  have  been 
elected,  and  all  elections  or  appointments  of  any  such 
judges  by  the  people,  legislature,  or  otherwise,  during  such 
period,  to  any  office  other  than  judicial  shall  be  void/' 


30  LEGISLATIVE  EFFORT,   1872. 

SCHEDULE. 

"Sec.  10.  For  the  first  three  years  after  the  adoption 
of  this  constitution  the  legislature  shall  not  levy  a  tax 
for  state  purposes  exceeding  one  per  cent  per  annum  on 
the  taxable  property  in  the  state." 


In  the  large  towns  of  the  Territory  much  interest  was 
taken  in  the  Statehood  election  and  the  campaign  which 
preceded  it;  but  away  from  the  centers  of  population  the 
people  were  apathetic. 

A  large  meeting  of  the  citizens  of  central  Xew  Mexico 
was  held  at  Albuquerque  on  May  12th,  at  which  Col.  J. 
Francisco  Chaves  presided  and  Candelario  Garcia,  Benja- 
min Stevens,  Jose  Armijo  y  Ortiz,  Tranquilino  Luna,  etc.. 
were  conspicuous  figures.  Strong  resolutions  were  passed 
favoring  Statehood  and  the  following  resolution  was  in- 
cluded, protesting  against  the  transfer  of  the  strip  of 
northern  Xew  Mexico  to  Colorado  which  afterwards  took 
place. 

"Resolved,  That  we  will  do  all  in  our  power,  by  all  hon- 
orable means,  to  defeat  the  alarming  scheme  set  on  foot 
by  citizens  of  Colorado,  to  annex  six  of  our  most  populous 
counties  to  that  Territory,  so  as  to  secure  her  admission 
as  a  State,  on  the  plea  that  we  are  indifferent;  that  we  are 
impelled  to  his  course  by  our  pride  and  our  independence, 
and  to  prevent  our  people,  our  relations  and  our  interests 
from  becoming  separated,  divided  and  made  tributary  to 
a  neighboring  Territory ;  and  we  call  on  the  people  through- 
out the  whole  Territory,  as  they  love  their  native  soil,  their 
homes,  their  wives  and  their  children,  as  they  esteem  our 
interests,  and  to  protect  all  they  hold  near  and  dear,  to 
vote  for  our  admission  into  the  Union,  and  put  the  seal 
of  condemnation  and  disapprobation  on  all  such  obnoxious 
plans  and  schemes." 

(New  Mexican,  May  14th.) 

In  Santa  Fe  a  similar  meeting  was  held  on  May  26th, 
at  which  Antonio  Ortiz  y  Salazar  presided,  and  Major  Jose 
D.  Sena,  Thomas  F.  Conway,  Gaspar  Ortiz,  Jesus  Maria 
Luna  y  Baca,  Eben  Everett,  Dr.  Andrews  and  others  were 


LEGISLATIVE   EFFORT,    1872.  31 

conspicuous.  Eesolutions  of  the  same  character  as  those 
passed  in  Albuquerque  were  adopted,  (New  Mexican,  May 
28th). 

The  "New  Mexican" -of  May  29th  devoted  a  column  and 
a  half  to  a  long  article  entitled  "Reasons  Why  the  People 
Should  Adopt  the  State  Constitution"  which  enumerated 
the  following  as  among  the  objects  to  be  attained  by  im- 
mediate Statehood: 

"'To  avoid  ruin,  annexation  to  other  territories,  division 
of  our  people,  our  interests,  and  separation  of  our  rela- 
tives: to  sustain  our  pride,  our  independence,  and  our  his- 
tory, the  oldest  in  the  United  States;  to  protect  our  inter- 
ests, induce  prosperity  and  transmit  blessings  we  have  not 
enjoyed  to  our  children ;  to  secure  a  proper  State  organiza- 
tion and  insure  good  and  wholesome  legislation  adapted  to 
our  wants;  to  have  the  privilege  of  abrogating,  changing 
or  amending  existing  laws,  that  are  unjust,  odious  and 
oppressive,  and  correcting  existing  evils;  to  manage  our 
own  affairs  and  select  our  own  officers,  in  fine,  to  make  us 
a  happy,  intelligent,  enterprising  and  prosperous  people; 
vote  for  the  Constitution  and  the  State." 

Notwithstanding  the  meetings  and  activities  of  commit- 
tees, the  actual  vote  on  election  day  was  so  small  as  to  dis- 
appoint those  interested.  There  was  really  nothing  strange 
in  this.  Not  specially  in  New  Mexico,  but  everywhere  when 
an  abstract  question  is  to  be  voted  upon  or  the  personal 
element  does  not  enter  into  the  campaign,  the  ordinary 
vote  is  cut  down  to  a  comparatively  small  fraction  of  the 
ordinary  normal  vote. 

On  the  day  after  the  election  the  Daily  New  Mexican 
said  "the  election  yesterday  passed  off  very  quietly,  only 
about  half  of  the  vote  being  polled."  It  was  not  till  June 
10th  that  the  vote  of  Santa  Fe  County  was  finally  an- 
nounced, being  554  in  favor  of  the  Constitution  and  346 
against;  giving  a  majority  of  208.  In  the  city  of  Santa 
Fe  the  vote  was  424  in  favor  and  77  against. 

The  next  day  there  appeared  in  the  New  Mexican  an 
editorial  article,  evidently  inspired  by  Gov.  Griddings,  which 
gave  a  reason  or  rather  an  excuse  for  letting  the  whole 


32  LEGISLATIVE   EFFORT,    1872. 

subject  drop.  As  the  law  was  mandatory  and  absolutely 
required  the  Governor  to  issue  the  proclamation  for  a 
State  election  on  the  second  Monday  in  July,  if  the  June 
vote  was  in  favor  of  Statehood,  this  affords  another  ex- 
ample of  the  evil  results  of  the  system  under  which  offi- 
cials are  not  responsible  to  the  people  and  are  too  often 
regardless  of  law. 

The  article  is  as  follows : 

"We  understand  that  the  election  to  vote  on  the  Consti- 
tution has  gone  substantially  by  default.  By  an  error  in 
fixing  the  time  too  short  in  which  to  make  returns,  many 
of  the  counties  have  made  none.  One  county,  in  which 
there  is  a  very  large  population,  with  sixteen  or  seventeen 
precincts,  returned  votes  only  for  one  precinct,  giving  all 
for  the  State  and  not  a  single  one  against  it.  In  a  large 
number  of  precincts  no  election  was  held  at  all,  and  it  is 
said  this  was  in  consequence  of  the  general  belief  that 
Congress  would  not  admit  us  as  a  State,  and  therefore 
there  was  no  propriety  in  going  through  the  farce  of  an 
election  for  State  officers,  at  a  great  expense,  unless  Con- 
gress should  first  authorize  it  and  show  its  willingness  to 
admit  us.  This  feeling  was  intensified  by  the  fact  that 
only  a  few  days  since  one  branch  of  Congress  laid  on  the 
table  the  bill  heretofore  introduced  for  the  same  purpose. 
All  these  things  combined  to  prevent  any  fair  expression 
of  the  sentiment  of  the  people.  And  while  the  probability 
now  is  that  the  votes  which  have  been  cast  will  show  a 
fair  majority  in  favor  of  the  Constitution  and  State,  yet 
we  understand  that  the  Governor,  upon  looking  at  the 
whole  vote  cast,  which  will  not  probably  exceed  one-third 
of  the  real  vote  of  the  Territory,  does  not  feel  authorized 
to  call  an  election  and  make  the  Territory  a  great  bill  of 
expense.  If  a  majority  of  the  voters  in  the  Territory  had 
voted  on  the  question,  we  think  the  ruling  would  have  been 
different;  but  if  the  fact  turns  out  to  be  that  only  one- 
third  of  the  voters  turned  out,  then  we  question,  much  as 
we  favor  a  state  organization,  the  propriety  of  calling  an 
election  for  State  officers,  even  though  a  majority  of  the 
votes  cast  are  in  favor  of  the  Constitution."  ( Xew  Mexican. 
June  11th,  1872). 


LEGISLATIVE   EFFORT,    1872.  33 

So  this  attempt  at  Statehood,  which  occupied  the  atten« 
tion  of  two  legislatures,  caused  a  Constitution  to  be  pre- 
pared, printed,  approved  by  the  legislature,  and  submitted 
to  the  people  at  a  special  election  held  solely  for  that  pur- 
pose, died,  without  any  good  cause. 

And  another  of  the  unfortunate  accidents  which  have 
retarded  the  progress  of  New  Mexico  was  added  to  the  list. 

The  succeeding  legislature,  which  met  in  December, 
1873,  gave  official  voice  to  the  public  desire  by  passing  a 
Memorial  to  the  U.  S.  Senate  and  House  of  Eepresentatives 
strongly  urging  Congressional  action  "for  the  immediate 
admission  of  this  Territory  as  a  State";  that  being  the 
most  proper  and  effective  method  of  procedure,  as  a  State- 
hood bill  was  then  under  consideration  in  the  national  leg- 
islature at  Washington. 


34  CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION    TO   1376. 

CHAPTEE  VI. 

COXGRESSIOXAL  ACTIOX  TO  1876. 

Wliile  these  proceedings  had  been  taken  in  Xew  Mexico, 
on  almoat  every  available  occasion,  Congress  had  been  no 
less  active  in  considering  the  subject. 

At  almost  every  session  a  bill  for  the  admission  of  Xew 
Mexico  was  introduced,  generally  reported  favorably  in  the 
House,  and  more  or  less  considered,  but  without  any  defi- 
nite result. 

In  1869  an  attempt  was  made,  though  not  by  Xew  Mexi- 
cans, to  transform  the  Territory  into  a  State  called  Lin- 
coln; but  this  project  was  ultimately  defeated  in  the  Sen- 
ate. 

In  the  40th  Congress,  Delegate  J.  Francisco  Chaves 
made  a  vigorous  and  eloquent  speech  in  favor  of  Statehood 
and  in  defense  of  the  people  against  unjust  criticism. 

In  the  43rd  Congress  (1873-5)  the  Enabling  Act  was 
introduced  by  Hon.  Stephen  B.  Elkins,  then  Delegate  from 
Xew  Mexico,  and  now  Senator  from  West  Virginia,  and  on 
the  21st  of  May,  1874,  he  delivered  a  carefully  prepared 
speech  on  the  bill,  which  contained  the  best  collection  of 
facts  and  arguments  on  the  subject  that  had  ever  been 
presented  to  Congress.  He  claimed  130,000  inhabitants 
for  the  Territory,  exclusive  of  Pueblo  Indians,  showed 
that  at  least  fifteen  States  had  been  admitted  to  the  Union 
with  a  smaller  population,  laid  stress  on  the  smallness 
of  the  public  debt  and  presented  a  vivid  picture  of  her 
great  natural  resources.  He  then  took  up  the  question  of 
the  obligation  on  the  part  of  the  government  to  grant 
Statehood  to  Xew  Mexico  arising  from  General  Kearny's 
pledges  and  the  Treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  and  closed 
with  a  well-deserved  tribute  to  the  patriotism,  loyalty  and 
law-abiding  character  of  the  people. 

The  bill  passed  the  House  by  the  remarkable  vote  of 
160  to  54  and  was  sent  to  the  Senate  for  concurrence.  In 
that  body  it  was  carefully  considered  in  committee  and 
open  session,  and  finally  passed  on  February  24,  1875.  by 


CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION   TO   1876.  35 

the  decisive  majority  of  32  to  11,  with,  a  slight  amend- 
ment. Running  parallel  with  it  in  both  Houses  was  the 
bill  to  admit  Colorado,,  almost  identical  in  language,  intro- 
duced and  championed  by  Hon.  Thomas  M.  Patterson, 
then  Delegate  from  that  Territory  and  since  Senator. 
While  the  vote  was  nearly  the  same  for  the  two  bills,  the 
one  for  New  Mexico  had  a  slight  advantage  in  majority 
down  to  the  time  when  both  passed  the  Senate  with  identic- 
al amendments.  It  was  then  that  the  series  of  misadven- 
tures which  had  accompanied  all  the  attempts  to  secure 
'New  Mexican  Statehood  from  the  beginning,  culminated 
in  the  incident  which  has  become  historic  as  the  "Elkins 
handshake,"  and  again  dashed  the  cup  of  success  from 
the  very  lips  of  the  people  of  the  Territory. 

THE  ELKINS'  HANDSHAKE. 

This  incident  has  been  narrated  scores  of  times  in  slight- 
ly varying  form,  not 'only  as  an  interesting  item  of  current 
history  but  a  remarkable  illustration  of  the  way  in  which 
insignificant  and  unintentional  acts,  sometimes  change 
the  course  of  very  important  events.  The  story  may  be 
briefly  told  as  follows:  Mr.  Elkins  was  possessed  of  a  most 
cordial  manner,  an  ever-present  expansive  smile,  and  a 
warmth  of  greeting,  which  were  among  the  causes  of  his 
personal  popularity,  and  which  advancing  age  and  sena- 
torial dignity  have  not  yet  obliterated.  This  charm  or 
manner  had  made  many  friends  even  among  political  op- 
ponents, and  among  those  whose  support  for  the  New 
Mexico  Statehood  Bill  he  had  thus  secured  on  its  passage 
by  the  House,  were  a  considerable  number  of  Representa- 
tives from  Georgia  and  Alabama.  When  the  bill  was  re- 
turned to  the  House,  after  passing  the  Senate  with  amend- 
ments on  February  24th,  but  ten  days  of  the  session  re- 
mained, and  the  difficulty  was  not  to  secure  concurrence  in 
the  Senate  amendments,  which  were  unobjectionable,  but  to 
get  the  bill  before  the  House  for  action  within  this  brief 
and  busy  time.  To  suspend  the  rules  required  a  two-thirds 
vote,  and  this  was  necessary  if  the  bill  was  to  be  considered 
at  all. 

Just  at  this  time,  Hon.  Julius  C.  Burroughs,  of  Michi- 


36  CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION    TO   1876. 

gan,  made  a  powerful  speech  on  political  subjects,  in  which 
he  characterized  the  Rebellion  and  those  engaged  in  it  in 
plain  terms, — what  at  that  period,  on  account  of  its  allu- 
sions to  the  War,  was  called  a  "bloody  shirt7'  speech.  Mr. 
Elkins,  who  Jhad  been  conversing  with  friends  in  the  lobby, 
had  not  heard  a  word  of  the  speech,  but  happened  to  re- 
enter  the  Chamber  just  as  Mr.  Burroughs  had  concluded 
and  was  receiving  the  congratulations  of  a  crowd  of  mem- 
bers about  him.  Filled  with  his  spirit  of  cordiality,  Mr 
Elkins  joined  the  group  and  shook  hands  with  the  speaker 
with  characteristic  vigor.  This  was  observed  by  a  number 
of  southern  members,  whose  feelings  had  been  much  ex- 
cited by  the  speech,  and  they  instantly  concluded  that 
they  would  lend  no  aid  to  the  passage  of  the  Xew  Mexico 
bill  which  it  was  understood  would  bring  Mr.  Elkins  speed- 
ily to  the  Senate.  The  Delegate  himself  was  entirely 
ignorant  of  any  change  in  their  views  or  of  having  done 
anything  to  arouse  their  opposition,  until  George  Q.  Can- 
non, Delegate  from  Utah,  learned  the  facts  and  informed 
him.  He  did  what  he  could  in  the  brief  interval  to  repair 
the  damage,  but  a  sufficient  number  of  former  supporters, 
from  Georgia  and  Alabama,  refused  to  be  placated,  to  make 
it  impossible  to  obtain  the  two-thirds  vote  necessary;  and 
so  the  Enabling  Act  was  lost  for  lack  of  opportunity  to 
obtain  concurrence  by  the  House  in  the  Senate  amend- 
ments. More  than  thirty-five  years  have  passed  since  that 
day  and  New  Mexico  still  remains  a  Territory  on  account 
of  that  impulsive  and  unconsidered  handshake. 


CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION    1876   TO   1895.  37 

CHAPTER  VII. 


CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION  1876  TO  1895. 

In  the  succeeding  Congress  (the  44th)  Mr,  Elkins  again 
•secured  the  introduction  of  the  Enabling  Act  for  New 
Mexico,  and  it  passed  the  Senate,  during  its  first  session, 
•on  March  10th,  1876,  by  the  strong  vote  of  35  to  15.  In 
the  House  of  Representatives,  it  was  reported  favorably 
"by  the  Committee  on  Territories,  and  was  on  the  calendar, 
awaiting  action  at  the  time  of  the  final  adjournment. 

After  these  virtual  defeats, — although  in  no  case  was 
there  an  actual  vote  adverse  to  New  Mexico,  and  the  re- 
tirement of  Mr.  Elkins  as  Delegate,  no  active  efforts  look- 
ing to  Statehood'  were  made  for  several  years.  The  ap- 
proach of  the  railroad,  and  its  actual  arrival  in  1879;  fol- 
lowed by  the  influx  of  a  new  population,  the  establish- 
ment of  new  towns,  and  the  general  mining  excitement 
which  extended  over  the  entire  Territory  in  the  early  '80s, 
seem  to  have  occupied  the  thought  and  attention  of  the 
people ;  and  during  the  Congressional  terms  of  Trinidad 
Romero,  Mariano  S.  Otero,  Tranquilino  Luna  and  F.  A. 
Manzanares,  and  the  earlier  years  of  Antonio  Joseph,  no 
effective  efforts  were  made  in  Washington  looking  to  the 
admission  of  New  Mexico  to  the  Union.  During  most 
of  this  period,  Dakota,  with  its  rapidly  increasing  popula- 
tion, was  vainly  endeavoring  to  secure  Statehood,  and  be 
ing  most  unjustly  excluded  for  political  reasons;  and  i\ 
was  obviously  impossible  for  any  less  populous  Territory 
to  be  admitted  until  her  urgent  application  was  heeded. 

Early  in  the  first  session  of  the  50th  Congress,  which 
met  in  December,  1887,  a  bill  was  introdudted  "To  provide 
for  the  formation  and  admission  into  the  Union  of  the 
States  of  Washington,  Dakota,  Montana  and  New  Mexico", 
designated  as  H.  R.  4431. 

Previous  to  this,  separate  bills  had  been  introduced  foi 
the  admission  of  Dakota  and  (H.  R.  1276),  Montana  (H. 
R.  1955),  and  Washington,  (H.  R.  4430).  The  commit- 
tee on  territories,  to  which  they  were  all  referred,  reported 


38  CONGRESSIONAL,   ACTION    1876   TO   1895. 

on  March  13,  1888,  House  Bill  Xo.  8466,  a  substitute  for 
the  entire  four  bills,  entitled  "A  Bill  to  Enable  the  Peo- 
ple of  Dakota,  Montana,  Washington  and  New  Mexico  to 
Form  Constitutions  and  State  Governments  and  to  be 
Admitted  into  the  Union  on  an  Equal  Footing  with  the 
Original  States.'' 

With  regard  to  Xew  Mexico  it  contained  one  peculiar 
section  which  reads  as  follows : 

Sec.  20.  That  the  constitutional  convention  to  assemble 
in  the  Territory  of  Xew  Mexico,  as  hereinbefore  provided, 
shall  submit  to  the  people  as  a  separate  proposition  to  be 
voted  upon  at  the  same  time  that  the  vote  upon  the  con- 
stitution is  taken,  the  question  of  changing  the  name  of 
the  State  from  that  of  the  State  of  Xew  Mexico  to  that 
of  the  State  of  Montezuma,  and  if  a  majority  of  voters 
shall  be  in  the  affirmative,  the  name  of  the  State  shall, 
upon  its  admission,  be  Montezuma;  and  all  the  powers, 
rights,  privileges,  grants,  and  obligations  pertaining  under 
this  act  to  the  State  of  Xew  Mexico  shall  attach  to,  be 
vested  in,  and  imposed  upon  the  State  of  Montezuma." 

The  entire  elimination  of  Xew  Mexico  from  the  bill 
before  its  final  passage,  of  course  deprived  this  section  of 
any  practical  importance,  but  it  is  interesting  as  a  matter 
of  history. 

Accompanying  this  bill  was  a  very  voluminous  report, 
or  series  of  reports,  covering  145  pages  and  containing 
much  information  and  many  contradictory  opinions  re- 
garding the  four  territories  affected  by  it.  This  is  known 
as  Eeport  Xo.  1025,  50th  Congress,  1st  Session.  The 
majority  report  was  made  by  Mr.  Springer,  chairman  of 
the  committee,  and  considers  the  case  of  each  of  the  terri- 
tories in  turn,%the  principal  portion  being  devoted  to  Da- 
kota and  an  argument  in  favor  of  its  admission  as  one 
State  instead  of  two.  It  excuses  the  outrageous  conduct 
of  Congress  in  not  admitting  Dakota,  with  its  great  popu- 
laion,  years  before,  by  laying  the  blame  on  the  people  of 
that  Territory,  who  were  insisting  that  the  interests  of  the 
two  sections  of  Dakota  were  so  diverse,  that  it  should  be 
divided  into  two  States,  by  a  line  running  east  and  west 


CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION    1876   TO   1895.  39 

through  its  center,  much  as  was  ultimately  done  by  the 
creation  of  North  and  South  Dakota. 

The  report  estimates  the  population  of  the  four  terri* 
tories  as  follows : 

Dakota.    568,000 

Montana    175,000 

Washington   160,000 

New  Mexico   150,000 

The  portion  of  the  report  devoted  to  New  Mexico  gives 
a  brief  history  of  its  previous  attempts  to  be  admitted  to 
the  Union;  refers  to  its  great  resources  and  the  marked 
progress  in  its  actual  industries;  quotes  the  memorial  of 
the  Legislature  asking  for  Statehood;  and  in  proof  of  the 
present  desire  of  the  people,  cites  the  recent  expressions 
of  opinion  published  in  the  "New  Mexican."  That  news- 
paper shortly  before,  in  order  to  ascertain  public  opinion 
on  the  subject,  had  addressed  circular  letters  to  a  large 
number  of  leading  citizens  asking  for  their  views  as  to 
Statehood.  Eeplies  were  received  from  122  persons,  who 
represented  every  county  in  the  Territory.  Of  these  91 
were  in  favor  of,  and  31  against,  immediate  admission.  Of 
the  91  in  favor,  41  were  republicans,  33  democrats  and  17 
of  unknown  politics.  Of  the  31  opposed,  11  were  demo- 
crats, 10  republicans,  6  of  no  particular  politics,  and  4 
who  called  themselves  independent.  So  that  the  division 
was  not  at  all  along  party  lines.  A  classification  by  kinds 
of  business  also  failed  to  develop  unanimous  approval  or 
opposition  in  any  particular  avocation,,  although  the  law- 
yers consulted  were  nearly  all  in  favor  of  Statehood.  It 
is  to  be  remembered  that  no  bill  relating  to  New  Mexico 
had  been  referred  to  the  committee,  and  the  inclusion  of 
that  Territory  in  the  bill  was  an  act  of  justice  and  grace 
on  the  part  of  the  committee,  largely  attributed  to  Mr. 
Springer,  who  was  well  acqualned  with  the  country  and 
its  people. 

The  minority  report,  presented  by  Mr.  Struble  of  Iowa, 
attracted  much  attention,  and  aroused  great  indignation 
in  New  Mexico,  on  account  of  its  violent  opposition  to  our 
admission  to  Statehood,  and  the  bitter  attack  on  the  Ter- 


40  CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION    1876   TO   1895. 

ritory  and  its  people.  It  insisted  that  Dakota  should  be 
divided  into  two  States  and  adduced  excellent  reasons 
therefor ;  agreed  with  the  majority  in  recommending  Mon- 
tana and  Washington;  and  reserved  all  of  its  criticism  for 
Xew  Mexico.  It  calls  the  action  of  the  committee  in  rec- 
ommending Statehood,  a  "surprising  and  unjustifiable 
attempt/'  especially  as  "neither  the  Delegate,  nor  Gover- 
nor Boss,  who  was  in  Washington  during  most  of  the  ses- 
sion, has  urged  any  action  by  Congress/' 

It  then  quotes  from  a  number  of  supposed  "authorities", 
the  quotations  always  being  of  an  unfavorable  nature. 
Thus  it  makes  this  extraordinary  historical  discovery  from 
Gaskell's  Atlas,  relating  to  Santa  Fe,  ""The  Spaniards 
found  this  a  populous  town  in  1542.  Its  history  is  one 
long  continued  strife  between  the  cruel  and  hated  Span- 
iards and  the  native  Pueblos/'  Considering  that  no  Span- 
iard was  there  in  1542,  nor  for  60  years  afterwards,  and 
that  there  has  been  no  Pueblo  trouble  for  over  200  years, 
the  value  of  that  extract  is  easily  estimated. 

Then  ii  quotes  from  one  McCabe,  who  said  of  the  same 
city:  "It  is  wretchedly  built.  The  houses  are  constructed 
of  adobe  and  are  one  story  in  height.  The  inhabitants, 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  Americans  residing  in  the 
place,  are  ignorant  and  degraded.  The  place  bears  an  evil 
reputation  as  one  of  the  most  reckless  and  miserable  towns 
on  the  globe." 

Then  follows  a  long  extract  from  "El  Gringo.*'  which 
was  written  more  than  thirty  years  before,  under  entirely 
different  conditions:  and  a  quotation  from  Prof.  Bliss, 
principally  concerning  the  Penitentes. 

These  are  followed  by  an  unfavorable  view  of  education 
in  the  Territory,  and  extracts  from  the  reports  of  Govern- 
ors Wallace  and  Sheldon  reflecting  on  the  primitive  style 
of  agriculture  employed  and  from  the  last  report  of  Gov. 
Eoss  severely  criticising  the  methods  of  legislation  and  de- 
nouncing- the  "viciousness  of  the  schemes  of  personal 
hatred  and  of  plunder  that  characterized  nearly  every  one 
of  the" sixty  days  of  the  life  of  the  last  session."  The  whole 
is  supplemented  by  the  question  "'is  it  not  apparent  that 


CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION    1876   TO   1895.  41 

the  people  of  New  Mexico  are  not  yet  prepared  for  intelli- 
gent, honest  and  capable  management  of  State  govern- 
ment ?" 

The  subject  was  discussed  at  length,  both  in  and  out  of 
•Congress,  and  the  result  was  the  elimination  of  New  Mex- 
ico and  the  admission  of  the  two  Dakotas  '  as  separate 
States,  of  Washington  and  Montana. 

As  New  Mexico  was  dropped  from  the  Omnibus  Bill 
in  which  it  had  originally  been  included,  a  separate  Act 
became  necessary,  and,  on  Feb.  15,  1889,  near  the  end  of 
the  50th  Congress,  Hon.  Antonio  Joseph,  Delegate  from 
New  Mexico,  introduced  House  Bill  No.  12,592,  an  Enab- 
ling Act  for  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico  alone,  entitled: 
"A  bill  to  enable  the  people  of  New  Mexico  to  form  a  con- 
stitution and  State  government  and  to  be  admitted  into 
the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  States/7 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Territories  of  the 
House  and  the  next  day  reported  and  committed  to  the 
Committee  of  the  Whole  House  on  the  State  of  the  Union, 
and  ordered  printed.  Of  course  it  was  then  too  late  in  the 
session  for  any  hope  of  successful  action;  but  it  kept  the 
subject  officially  before  Congress,  and  showed  the  con- 
tinued desire  of  the  Territory  for  admission. 

This  bill  contained  the  following  peculiar  provision, 
which  was  probably  an  attempt  to  introduce  the  name  of 
"Montezuma"  by  indirection,  so  that  it  would  not  meet 
with  opposition  in  Congress,  but  could  be  arranged  by 
argument  and  influence  in  the  convention.  Whoever  was 
behind  the  movement  entirely  misunderstood  the  prevail- 
ing sentiment  in  New  Mexico,  or  underrated  its  strength, 
as  is  more  fully  shown  elsewhere. 

"Sec.  21.  That  the  constitutional  convention  to  assem- 
ble in  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico,  as  hereinbefore  pro- 
vided, shall  submit  to  the  people,  as  a  separate  proposition, 
to  be  voted  upon  at  the  same  time  that  the  vote  upon  the 
Constitution  is  taken,  the  question  of  changing  the  name 
of  the  State  from  that  of  the  State  of  New  Mexico  to  that 
name  for  the  proposed  State  which  said  convention  may 
select  and  indicate,  and  if  a  majority  of  voters  shall  be  in 


42  CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION    1876   TO   1895. 

the  affirmative  the  name  of  the  State  shall,  upon  its  ad- 
mission, be  changed  accordingly;  and-  all  the  powers, 
rights,  privileges,,  grants,  and  obligations  pertaining  under 
this  Act  to  the  State  of  New  Mexico  shall  attach  to.  be 
vested  in,  and  imposed  upon  the  State  by  the  name  thus 
selected  and  adopted." 

The  report  on  this  bill  made  by  Mr.  Springer  on  behalf 
of  the  committee,  on  Feb.  16th,  1889,  (Eeport  No.  4090r 
50th  Congress,  2nd  Session),  contains  the  same  argument 
in  favof  of  the  admission  of  New  Mexico  that  was  in  the 
majority  report  on  the  Omnibus  Bill  previously  referred 
to;  and  in  addition  a  large  amount  of  matter  showing  the 
recent  educational  progress  of  New  Mexico,  and  an  inter- 
esting statement  by  Maj.  Powell  as  to  the  enormous  area 
of  land  which  can  be  added  to  the  agricultural  area  of  the 
territory  by  storage  reservoirs  and  irrigation. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  next  session  of  Congress,  in  the 
succeeding  December,  1889,  this  being  the  first  session 
of  the  51st  Congress,  of  which  Hon.  Antonio  Joseph  was 
again  a  member  from  New  Mexico,  enjoying  his  third 
term  of  service, — Mr.  Joseph,  on  December  18,  1889,  in- 
troduced House  Bill  No.  968  which  was  practically  the 
same  as  his  bill  of  Feb.  15,  1889,  but  omitted  section  21 
of  the  latter  which  had  directed  the  constitutional  conven- 
tion to  submit  to  the  people,  as  a  separate  proposition,  a 
new  name  for  the  proposed  State,  to  be  selected  by  the 
convention. 

In  order  to  take  advantage  of  any  opportunity  that 
might  be  presented  for  the  passage  of  this  bill  in  the  Sen- 
ate, if  that  should  be  possible  before  action  in  the  House, 
Senator  Wolcott  of  Colorado,  introduced  in  the  Senate,  on 
Feb.  4,  1890,  the  same  bill,  which  was  designated  "S. 
2M6,"  and  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Territories. 

In  the  meantime  on  the  6th  day  of  January,  1890,  Mr. 
Springer,  of  Illinois,  introduced  a*  bill  (H.  K.  3830)  "To 
enable  the  people  of  Arizona,  Idaho.  Xew  Mexico  and 
Wyoming,  to  form  constitutions  and  State  governments 
and  to  be  admitte  into  the  Union/'  etc.  This  embodied  the 
usual  provisions,  together  with  an  original  one,  which  has 


CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION    1876   TO   1895.  43 

subsequently  found  a  place  in  succeeding  bills  and  forms 
part  of  the  Act  of  1910;  being  the  section  which  authorizes 
the  re-convening  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  and  the 
forming  and  submission  of  a  second  Constitution.,  in  case 
the  first  one  framed  shall  be  rejected  by  the  people. 

In  this  case.,  again.,  the  Southwest  was  neglected  and  the 
Northwest  was  favored;  for  before  the  passage  of  the  bill, 
Arizona  and  New  Mexico,  though  by  far  the  oldest  of  the 
four  territories  named,  and  New  Mexico  being  also  the 
most  populous,  were  eliminated  from  it.  They  were  thus 
left  in  the  territorial  condition,  while  Idaho  and  Wyom- 
ing, with  a  combined  population  less  than  that  of  New 
Mexico  alone,  were  admitted. 

On  April  3rd,  1890,  Mr.  Joseph  took  advantage  of  the 
consideration  of  the  bill  for  the  admission  of  Idaho,  to 
make  a  speech  relative  to  Statehood  for  New  Mexico.  He 
drew  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  House  had  just  passed 
the  bill  for  the  admission  of  Wyoming  and  was  about  to 
do  the  same  for  Idaho,  and  he  proceeded  to  demonstrate 
that  New  Mexico  had  far  better  claims  to  Statehood  than 
either  of  those  territories.  He  urged  the  passage  of  thf* 
Enabling  Act  introduced  by  him  early  in  the  Session, 
but  he  opposed  admission  under  the  Constitution  framed 
by  the  Constitutional  Convention  of  1389,  on  account  of 
the  partisan  character  of  the  convention.  This  evidence 
of  a  divided  sentiment  among  the  people,  and  that  details 
and  incidental  matters  were  by  some  considered  more  im- 
portant than  the  attainment  of  self-government  itself,, 
naturally  weakened  the  cause  of  Statehood  in  the  House 
rather  than  gave  it  strength. 

In  the  52nd  Congress  (1891-3),  Mr.  Joseph  again  intro- 
duced an  Enabling  Act,  known  as  House  Bill  7136.  He 
succeeded  in  securing  a  favorable  report  from  the  Commit- 
tee on  Territories,  and  by  courtesy  was  appointed  to  make 
the  report  himself,  which  he  did  on  March  16,  1892.  It 
contained  45  pages,  closely  printed,  and  appeared  as  Ke- 
port  No.  736,  52nd  Cong.,  1st  Sess,  The  bill  provided 
for  an  election,  on  the  usual  election  day  in  November, 
1892,  of  75  delegates  to  form  a  Constitutional  Convention; 


44  CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION   1876   TO  1895. 

.and  that  the  convention  should  assemble  on  the  first  Mon- 
day in  December.  It  contained  liberal  donations  of  land 
for  various  purposes. 

The  report,  besides  the  usual  statements  of  area,  popu- 
lalioii.  etc..  divw  attention  to  the  large  expenditures  al- 
ready made  by  the  Territory  for  public  buildings,  amount- 
ing to  $600,000,  and  to  the  passage  on  March  3rd,  1891, 
of  the  Act  to  Establish  a  Court  of  Private  Land  Claims, 
which  was  expected  to  clear  up  all  the  unsettled  titles  of 
land  grants  in  the  Territory.  It  embodied  the  whole  of 
the  pamphlet  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  called 
"Xew  Mexico  the  Coming  Country,"  which  contained  a 
very  full  description  of  the  resources  and  progress  of  New 
Mexico;  and  also  the  entire  report  of  the  hearing  by  the 
House  Committee  on  Territories,  on  April  30,  1890,  of 
the  Committee  of  Fifty  headed  by  Gov.  Prince,  elsewhere 
referred  to;  as  well  as  the  latest  report  of  the  Territorial 
Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction.  These  constituted 
:;i  very  full  and  important  document,  which  bore  witness 
in  all  its  parts  to  the  worthiness  of  the  Territory  and  peo- 
ple to  be  accorded  the  right  of  self  government.  But  like 
all  the  preceding  attempts,  nothing  practical  resulted  in 
that  Congress,  although  considerable  progress  was  made. 

The  bill  passed  the  House  on  June  6th  and  reached  .the 
Senate  June  8th,  1892,  and  there  Senator  Carey  of  Wyom- 
ing, who  had  had  a  long  experience  in  a  Territory,  before 
Statehood  brought  to  him  the  Senatorial  toga,  took  charge 
of  it.  It  was  somewhat  amended  in  the  Senate  Committee 
on  Territories,  £he  material  alterations  being  a  change  in 
the  dates  of  the  election,  convention,  etc.,  making  them 
dependent  on  the  time  of  the  passage  of  the  bill;  appor- 
tioning the  delegates  directly  to  the  respective  counties; 
somewhat  reducing  the  land  appropriations;  and  changing 
the  provision  with  regard  to  the  language  of  the  public 
schools,  from  "in  all  of  which  schools-  the  English  lan- 
guage shall  be  taught"  to  "the  said  schools  shall  always 
be  conducted  in  English."  It  was  then  reported  to  the 
Senate,  favorably,  on  July  21,  1892  (Eeport  No.  1023). 

At  the  second  Session  of  the  52nd  Congress,  Senator 


CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION   1876  TO   1895.  4E> 

Carey  introduced  in  the  committee  on  Jan.  28,  1893,  twa 
proposed  amendments  to  this  bill,  intended  to  meet  the 
cases  of  the  other  territories  that  were  anxious  for  State- 
hood, and  apparently  arranged  so  as  to  attract  the  largest 
possible  vote  to  the  original  measure,  and  to  bring  about 
the  admission  of  as  many  territories  as  Congress  should 
be  willing  to  favor  at  that  time. 

Amendment  No.  1  provided  for  the  formation  of  four 
new  States,  New  Mexico,  Utah,  Arizona  and  Oklahoma;, 
the  latter  to  include  the  Indian  Territory. 

Amendment  No.  2  provided  for  the  formation  of  three 
new  States,  New  Mexico,  Utah,  and  Oklahoma;  being  simi- 
lar to  No.  1,  except  the  omission  of  Arizona. 

That  was  within  three  weeks  of  the  end  of  the  Congress, 
and  as  might  have  been  expected,  no  definite  action  was 
taken  on  these  amendments,  although  Senator  Carey  made 
a  very  strong  effort  to  have  the  bill  amended  about  the- 
middle  of  February,  but  was  unable  to  obtain  the  two- 
third  vote  necessary;  and  thus  nothing  tangible  was  accom- 
plished for  the  cause  of  Statehood  in  New  Mexico. 

In  the  53rd  Congress,  Hon.  Antonio  Joseph  was  again, 
a  delegate  from  New  Mexico,  and  introduced  a  Statehood 
bill  at  the  earliest  possible  opportunity  of  the  first  session. 
It  was  known  as  House  Bill  No.  353,  "An  Act  to  Enable 
the  People  of  New  Mexico  to  Form  a  Constitution  and 
State  Government,"  etc.  The  title  by  this  time  had  be- 
come almost  stereotyped.  It  was  very  similar  in  its  pro- 
visions to  the  previous  bill,  providing  for  a  convention  of" 
75  delegates,  who  were  apportioned  among  the  counties  in 
the  bill;  the  election  to  be  in  November,  1894,  and  the 
convention  to  commence  in  December.  One  special  fea- 
ture was  an  appropriation  of  500,000  acres  of  land  for  the 
establishment  of  permanent  water  reservoirs  for  irrigation 
purposes. 

This  bill  passed  the  House  on  the  28th  of  June,  1894, 
and  was  received  in  the  Senate  June  29th  and  referred  to- 
the  Committee  on  Territories. 

On  August  3,  1894,  Senator  Blackburn,  of  Kentucky, 
reported  the  bill  favorably,  with  a  few  amendments.  These- 


46  CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION    1876  'TO    1895. 

changed  the  dates,  as  the  original  ones  had  proved  to  be 
too  early,  but  did  not  alter  the  general  tenor  of  the  bill. 
As  usual,  the  second  session  proved  too  short  for  action 
on  the  bill,  and  so  it  suffered  the  fate  of  its  predecessors. 

A  little  incident  of  hitherto  unwritten  history  may  be 
narrated  here,  because  it  presents  another  illustration  of 
the  chapter  of  accidents  which  have  accompanied  the 
"Struggle  for  Statehood77  from  the  beginning  and  unex- 
pectedly brought  disappointment  and  failure  on  so  many 
occasions. 

On  the  very  first  day  when  bills  could  be  introduced,  the 
Enabling  Acts  for  New  Mexico  and  Utah  were  presented, 
the  former  by  Mr.  Joseph  and  the  latter  by  the  delegate 
from  the  Mormon  Territory.  Both  were  repetitions  of 
old  measures  and  were  almost  immediately  reported  from 
the  committee;  the  New  Mexico  bill  being  just  in  advance 
of  the  one  relating  to  Utah.  Each  delegate  was  anxiously 
awaiting  the  time  when  the  bills  should  be  reached  on  the 
Calendar  and  taken  up  for  action,  as  they  were  determined 
to  have  them  passed  and  sent  to  the  Senate  as  early  as 
possible.  It  was  not  supposed  that  they  could  be  reached 
for  action  before  the  usual  holiday  recess.  Just  at  this 
time,  about  the  middle  of  December,  Mr.  Joseph  suffered 
from  a  malarial  attack,  and  believed  that  a  few  days  at  his 
home  would  dispel  the  trouble  and  bring  him  to  good  fight- 
ing condition  for  the  expected  contest.  He  consulted  sev- 
eral leading  members  of  the  House,  and  they  all  concurred 
in  the  belief  that  there  was  no  chance  of  reaching  the  bills 
before  the  recess,  and  consequently  no  danger  incurred 
by  absence  at  that  time.  So  Mr.  Joseph  started  for  the 
salubrious  climate  of  Xew  Mexico  in  order  to  recuperate 
in  the  interval. 

But  it  happened  that  Congress  just  then  had  one  of  its 
periodical  fits  of  special  industry.  A  serious  attempt  was 
made  to  omit  the  recess  altogether  and  that  was  only  de- 
feated by  postponing  the  recess  until  the  day  before  Christ- 
mas and  agreeing  to  work  assiduously  in  the  meantime. 
Tims  the  business  was  expedited  far  beyond  all  calcula- 
tions, and  just  before  the  holidays  the  two  Statehood  bills 


CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION   1876   TO   1895.  47 

were  unexpectedly  reached.  The  New  Mexico  one  was 
first  called,  but  as  the  delegate  was  not  present  to  ask  for 
its  consideration,  it  lost  its  opportunity.  The  Utah  bill 
was  announced,  and  its  sponsor  succeeded  in  having  it 
passed  by  the  House  then  and  there;  and  when  Congress 
re-convened  after  the  holidays  it  was  in  the  Senate  ready 
for  reference.  Sometime  after,  the  New  Mexico  bill  was 
again  reached  in  the  House  and  was  passed  with  little  diffi- 
culty. In  fact,  it  had  always  been  sure  of  more  votes  than 
the  one  for  the  admission  of  Utah,  against  which  there 
was  considerable  prejudice  and  opposition  on  account  of 
Mormonism.  But  the  delay  in  time  caused  the  difference 
in  their  fate. 

The  Utah  bill  was  passed  and  became  a  law,  under  which 
a  Constitutional  Convention  was  held  and  the  State  ad- 
mitted. 

The  New  Mexico  bill,  though  strongly  advocated,  never 
reached  the  point  of  being  voted  upon  in  the  Senate. 

No  fault  is  attributed  to  Mr.  Joseph,  who  was  an  earnest 
advocate  of  the  bill  and  anxious  for  its  success,  and  who 
had  every  reason  to  believe  that  his  short  absence  would 
be  harmless ;  but  this  adds  another  to  the  series  of  mishaps 
which  have  become  proverbial. 


48  CONSTITUTION   OF   189Q. 

CHAPTER  VIII. 


CONSTITUTION  OF  1890. 

While  Congress  was  discussing  in  the  Committee  on  Ter- 
ritories of  the  House  the  Enabling  Act  (House  Bill  12,- 
592),  introduced  by  Mr.  Joseph,  and  just  before  Hon,  W. 
I?.  Springer,  of  Illinois,  the  chairman  of  the  committee, 
made  his  favorable  report  thereon,  the  people  of  Xew 
Mexico  determined  to  take  the  matter  into  their  own 
hands  and  initiate  the  necessary  proceedings  for  admission 
to  the  Union. 

In  February-,  1889,  Hon.  George  W.  Prichard  of  San 
Miguel  County,  introduced  in  the  Council  "An  Act  to 
Provide  for  a  Constitutional  Convention  and  the  Forma- 
tion of  a  State  Constitution." 

After  various  recitals  by  way  of  preamble,  among  which 
was  the  following  emphatic  one, 

"Whereas,  a  territorial  system  of  government  is  the 
most  unsatisfactory  that  can  be  devised,  being  a  govern- 
ment without  stability,  is  temporary  and  uncertain  in  its 
character,  possesses  no  sovereign  powers,  and  fails  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  the  people,"  the  bill  provided  for  a 
delegate  convention  to  be  held  in  September,  1889,  for 
the  purpose  of  framing  a  Constitution.  The  convention 
was  to  be  composed  of  73  delegates,  who  were  apportioned 
by  the  bill  among  the  various  counties,  and  were  to  be 
chosen  at  an  election  on  the  first  Tuesday  in  August.  It 
was  to  frame  a  constitution  and  provide  for  a  special  elec- 
tion at  which  such  constitution  should  be  submitted  to  the 
people  for  ratification.  This  bill  was  passed  by  both  Houses, 
but  the  Governor  failed  to  approve  it,  as  he  considered 
the  apportionment  objectionable;  but  he  did  not  veto  it. 
and  it  became  a  law  by  limitation,  Feb.  .28,  1889. 

From  the  beginning,  the  Democratic  leaders  expressed 
dissatisfaction  with  the  apportionment,  which  they  assert- 
ed gave  too  much  representation  to  republican  counties; 
and  perhaps  there  was  some  merit  in  their  objection.  They 
claimed  to  be  favorable  to  Statehood  and  simply  opposed 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1890.  49 

to  an  unfair  inequality.  There  was  much  talk  of  making 
some  equitable  arrangement  whereby  the  parties'  strength 
would  be  more  equally  balanced  in  the  convention,  and  this 
resulted  in  calling  the  two  party  territorial  committees  to 
meet  on  the  same  day  at  Santa  Fe.  The  most  earnest 
Statehood  men  on  both  sides  were  anxious  for  some  ar- 
rangement which  would  ensure  the  support  of  both  parties 
for  the  Constitution. 

The  two  committees  met  on  June  12th,  1889,  the  at- 
tendance on  both  sides  being  good  and  composed  of  leading 
citizens.  The  republican  committee  took  the  lead  by  pass- 
ing the  following  resolution: 

"Whereas,  the  important  question  now  before  the  people 
is  the  attainment  of  Statehood,  and  the  result  of  the  pres- 
ent efforts  depends  largely  on  the  character  of  the  conven- 
tion and  Constitution,  and  also  on  the  united  action  of  all 
good  citizens  without  regard  to  party  or  other  differences, 
therefore,  » 

"Resolved,  That  the  Eepublican  Territorial  Committee 
appoint  a  conference  committee  of  three  members  to  re- 
quest the  appointment  by  the  Democratic  Territorial  Com- 
mittee of  a  similar  commitee,  to  confer  as  to  the  best 
method  of  electing  the  most  eminent  and  best  qualified 
citizens  as  members  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  and 
interesting  all  men  of  patriotism  and  progress  in  the  ef- 
fort for  Statehood;"  and  appointed  as  its  committee  Hon. 
L.  B.  Prince,  Hon.  M.  S.  Otero  and  Col.  G.  W.  Prichard. 

The  Democratic  committee  accepted  the  invitation,  and 
appointed  Hon.  F.  A.  Manzanares,  C.  H.  Gildersleeve  and 
W.  B.  Childers  as  their  representatives.  It  was  conceded 
without  question  that  the  Republican  majority  under  the 
apportionment  would  be  about  27,  and  that  thta  was  more 
than  it  should  equitably  be.  At  the  conference,  after  a 
friendly  discussion,  the  Republicans  consented  to  accept 
a  majority  of  seven.  The  Democrats  offered  to  concede 
three.  The  Republicans  objected  that  three  was  too  small 
a  margin,  as  sickness  or  absence  might  destroy  the  majority. 
Apparently  a  compromise,  giving  five  majority,  was  on 
the  point  of  being  arranged,  when  one  of  the  Democratic 


50  CONSTITUTION   OF    1890. 

conferees  suddenly  destroyed  all  hope  of  agreement  by  ex- 
c] aiming  excitedly  "Our  friends  in  Congress  will  never  be 
satisfied  unless  we  have  half  the  convention."  He  seemed 
suddenly  possessed  by  this  idea;  and  so  the  conference 
failed.  These  particulars  are  narrated  in  order  to  show 
what  a  small  matter  again  intervened  to  cause  long  delay 
in  the  struggle  for  statehood.  But  for  the  sudden  impetu- 
osity of  one  man.,  followed  by  the  persistent  opposition  of 
one  other,  the  constitution  of  1890  would  surely  have  been 
adopted,  and  Xew  Mexico  admitted  to  the  Union  twenty 
years  ago. 

The  plan  for  co-operation  having  failed,  but  one  course 
remained  open  and  the  Eepublicans  called  county  conven- 
tions to  nominate  candidates.  At  the  same  time  the  Ter- 
ritorial Committee  expressed  its  regret  at  the  failure,  and 
as  late  as  June  24th,  Mr.  W.  W.  Griffin,  chairman  of  the 
committee,  made  a  new  effort  for  an  arrangement,  while 
the  "Xew  Mexican"  vigorously  advocated  any  fair  adjust- 
ment of  the  differences. 

The  Democrats,  as  a  rule,  under  peremptory  orders  from 
Mr.  Childers,  chairman  of  their  committee,  refused  to 
nominate  candidates  or  participate  in  the  election.  A  very 
few  men  of  sufficient  influence  or  independence  to  disre- 
gard the  commands  of  the  party  leaders,  united  with  *the 
Eepublicans  in  the  campaign;  Hon.  L.  S.  Trimble,  long 
a  member  of  Congress  from  Kentucky,  being  the  most 
conspicuous  example.  He  was  among  the  delegates  subse- 
quently elected  from  Bernalillo  county. 

On  June  24th  the  Governor  issued  the  usual  proclama- 
tion of  election,  the  time  for  holding  which  was  Tuesday, 
Aug.  6th;  but  the  Democratic  Board  of  County  Commis- 
sioners of  Lincoln  County  endeavored  to  nullify  the  law  by 
inaction,  so  far  as  their  county  was  concerned,  and  nearly 
succeeded  in  doing  so.  Legal  proceedings  having  failed,  fin- 
ally, on  August  3rd,  the  Governor  issued  the  following 
proclamation  addressed  to  the  voters  of  Lincoln  Count}', 
which  recited  the  facts  and  called  on  the  people  to  exercise 
their  rights. 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1890.  51 

"To  the  Legal  Voters  of  Lincoln  County: 

The  legislature  of  New  Mexico,  by  Chap.  99,  of  the 
Laws  of  1899,  provided  that  an  election  should  be  held  on 
Tuesday,  August  6th,  1899,  for  the  choice  of  delegates  to 
a  Constitutional  Convention  to  be  held  in  September  of 
this  year.  By  said  Act  the  County  Commissioners  of  the 
several  counties  are  required  to  issue  notices  of  election 
and  do  all  other  things  necessary  in  the  premises. 

The  County  Commissioners  of  Lincoln  County  neglected 
and  refused  to  perform  their  duties  under  said  Act  and 
thereupon  the  Court  issued  a  peremptory  writ  of  man- 
damus commanding  said  commissioners  to  meet  and  per- 
form the  duties  required  of  them  by  law. 

Information  has  been  received  that  two  of  said  commis- 
sioners absented  themselves  from  said  county  and  so  es- 
caped service  of  said  writ,  and  still  neglect  and  refuse 
to  perform  their  duties,  .and  that,  therefore,  no  judges  of 
election  have  yet  been  appointed  for  the  several  precincts 
of  Lincoln  County. 

Now,  therefore,  I,  L.  Bradford  Prince,  Governor  of 
New  Mexico,  do  proclaim  and  make  known : 

1.  That  the  right  of  the  qualified  citizens  of  New  Mexi- 
co to  vote  at  a  territorial  election  cannot  be  destroyed  by 
any  illegal  action  or  neglect  of  an  officer  in  regard  to  such 
election. 

2.  That  in  accordance  with  law,  an  election  will  be 
held  in  the  several  precincts  of  Lincoln  County  on  Tues- 
day, the  sixth  day  of  August,  1889. 

3.  That  in  pursuance  of   Sec.   1136   of  the   Compiled 
Laws  of  1884,  a  majority  of  the  qualified  voters  in  each, 
precinct  have  power  to  appoint  judges  who  shall  conduct 
said  election  in  the  same  manner  and  to  the  same  effect 
as  if  they  had  been  appointed  by  the  County  Commission- 
ers as  provided  by  law. 

I  therefore  recommend  that  the  legal  voters  in  each  pre- 
cinct assemble  at  the  usual  place  of  voting  therein,  at  nine 
o'clock,  on  the  morning  of  August  6th,  or  as  soon  there- 
after as  practicable,  and  that  those  so  assembled  then  and 
there  appoint  judges  as  aforesaid. 


52  CONSTITUTION   OF   1890. 

And  I  advise  the  people  of  the  respective  precincts,  if 
there  shall  be  time  for  such  action,  to  apply  to  the  Pro- 
bate Clerk  for  poll  books  and  ballot  boxes;  and  in  cases 
in  which  they  cannot  be  procured  to  provide  suitable  books 
and  boxes,  and  in  all  things  to  conduct  said  election  as 
nearly  as  practicable  in  conformity  with  the  forms  of  law. 
And  as  a  matter  of  precaution  I  recommend  that  dupli- 
cate records  of  said  election  be  sent  direct  to  the  Secretary 
of  the  Territory  at  Santa  Fe. 
Dated  August  3,  1889. 

L.  BEADFOED  PEINCE, 

Governor  of  New  Mexico. 
By  the  Governor :    B.  M.  Thomas, 

Secretary  of  the  Territory." 

Under  this  proclamation  three  of  the  most  efficient  dele- 
gates to  the  convention,  Messrs.  Terrell,  Eddy  and  Heman, 
were  elected. 

The  names  of  the  members  of  the  convention  were  as 
follows: — Bernalillo  County:  E.  S.  Stov£r,  Alejandro  San- 
doval,  E.  Haberland,  W.  C.  Hazledine,  L.  S.  Trimble, 
Marcos  C.  de  Baca,  Bernard  S.  Eodey,  Mariano  S.  Otero, 
Pedro  Perea,  Perfecto  Armijo. 

Colfax :  A.  C.  Voorhees,  Nestor  Martinez,  Cristobal  San- 
chez, E.  W.  Fox. 

Dona  Ana  :  A.  J.  Fountain,  W.  L.  Eynerson,  Martin  Loh- 
man. 

Grant:     John  D.  Bail,  Warren  Bristol,  E.  P.  Hart. 

Lincoln:     S.  S.  Terrell,  C.  B.  Eddy,  T.  W.  Heman. 

Mora:  Severino  Trujillo,  C.  W.  Wildenstein,  Matea 
Lujan,  Trinidad  Eomero. 

Eio  Arriba :  J.  M.  C.  Chavez,  Jose  Y.  Esquibel,  W.  F. 
Burns,  E.  K.  Caldwell,  Pedro  Y.  Jaramillo,  W.  D.  Lee. 

Santa  Fe:  Nicolas  Pino,  P.  L.  VanderVeer,  Aniceto 
Abeytia,  J.  D.  Sena,  T.  B.  Catron,  F.  W.  Clancy. 

Sierra:    E.  M.  White,  Nicholas  Galles. 

San  Miguel:  Pascual  Baca,  E.  C.  Winters,  Manuel  C. 
de  Baca,  E.  F.  Hobart,  John  G.  Clancy,  Jefferson  Bay- 
nolds,  Edward  Henry,  Leandro  Sanchez,  Eomulo  Ulibarri. 
G.  W.  Prichard,  W.  H.  Shupp,  Frank  Springer. 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1890.  53 

San  Juan:  L.  K.  S.  Paulin,  David  E.  Lobato. 

Socorro :  Jacinto  Sanchez,  J.  A.  Whitmore,  William  E. 
Kelley,  Jose  Baca  y  Sedillo,  Demetrio  Perez,  W.  G.  Kitch. 

Taos :  Antonio  Martinez.,  Juan  Martin,  Antonio  Roibal, 
Juan  Trujillo,  Francisco  Duran,  Manuel  Chacon. 

Valencia :  Desiderio  Sandoval,  E.  A.  Dow,  Patrocinio 
Luna,  Juan  Jose  Benavides,  Silvestre  Mirabal. 

It  met  on  September  3rd,  1889,  elected  J.  Francisco 
Chaves  as  president  and  Ira  M.  Bond  as  secretary,  and 
continued  in  session  till  September  21.  The  constitution 
was  then  printed  in  both  English  and  Spanish  and  circu- 
lated widely  throughout  the  Territory. 

After  an  adjournment  of  nearly  an  entire  year  the  con- 
vention re-assembled  on  August  18,  1890,  and  continued  in 
session  on  that  and  the  succeeding  day,  making  a  few 
amendments  which  had  been  suggested  during  the  year, 
and  providing  for  the  submission  of  the  Constitution  to 
a  vote  of  the  people  on  October  7,  1890.  It  then  adjourned 
sine  die. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  officers  of  the  convention  a 
new  edition  of  the  proposed  Constitution,  as  amended,  was 
published  in  both  of  the  languages  current  in  the  Terri- 
tory, accompanied  by  a  manifesto  to  the  people  setting 
forth  the  reasons  for  its  adoption. 

Between  the  adjournment  of  the  convention  and  the  time 
of  the  election  a  vigorous  campaign  was  conducted  all  over 
the  Territory.  A  Democratic  convention,  held  at  Silver 
City,  declared  /against  the  Constitution  and  advised  its 
adherents  to  oppose  it,  principally  on  four  grounds: 

1.  That  the  appellate  judges  are  to  be  appointed. 

2.  That  the  Governor  is  suspended  during    impeach- 
ment. 

3.  That  the  State  tax  is  limited  to  one  per  cent. 

4.  That  the  apportionment  is  unjust. 

This  was  followed  up  by  a  circular  on  the  same  general 
subjects  signed  by  W.  B.  Childers,  chairman,  and  Felix 
M.artinez,  secretary  of  the  Democratic  Territorial  Com- 
mittee. 

The   Republican   Territorial    Committee    promptly    're- 


54  CONSTITUTION   OF    189Q. 

sponded  with  a  circular  answering  the  objections  and  end- 
ing with  this  exhortation :  "In  conclusion  we  beg  of  you, 
people  of  .New  Mexico,  to  give  no  heed  to  the  lying  mis- 
representations of  the  enemies  of  progress.  Eead  the 
Constitution  for  yourselves  and  consider  whether  any  con- 
stitution ever  framed  could  escape  with  less  of  criticism  if  it 
were  subjected  for  more  than  a  year  to  the  careful  examina- 
tion of  enemies.  For  the  fact  is  not  to  be  lost  sight  of,  that 
the  men  who  are  active  in  their  opposition  are  the  same 
who  were  unfriendly  before  the  convention  met;  who  re- 
fused to  participate  in  the  election  of  delegates;  who  pre- 
dicted that  a  quorum  of  the  convention  would  never  assem- 
ble ;  who  attempted  to  cast  ridicule  on  the  proceedings  of  the 
convention  while  its  sessions  continued;  who,  in  short, 
pre- judged  everything.,  and  in  advance  pledged  themselves 
to  fight  against  whatever  might  be  the  result  of  the  labors 
of  the  convention/'  This  was  signed  by  S.  B.  Axtell, 
chairman,  and  L.  A.  Hughes,  secretary  of  the  committee. 

Meetings  were  held  in  all  parts  of  the  Territory,  Gov. 
Axtell,  Col.  J.  F.  Chaves,  Gov.  Stover,  Judge  Trimble, 
Maj.  Sena,  Hon.  T.  B.  Catron,  Hon.  A.  L.  Morrison,  Col. 
H.  L.  Pickett,  Col.  Eynerson,  Hon.  M.  S.  Otero/E.  E, 
T \vitchell,  E  A.  Fiske,  J.  H.  Ivnaebel  and  others  speaking 
in  f^.vor  of  the  Constitution,  and,  W.  B.  Childers,  H.  B. 
Fergusson,  Felix  Martinez,  X.  B.  Field,  C.  H.  Gildersleeve, 
J.  H.  Crist,  X.  B.  Laughlin,  Gov.  Eoss,  etc.,  opposing  its 
adoption.  The  campaign  was  opened  by  a  great  procession 
and  meeting  in  the  Plaza  at  Santa  Fe,  called  by  the  Press 
at  the  time  "the  largest  and  most  brilliant  public  demon- 
stration ever  held  in  Xew  Mexico/'  at  which  Judge  Axtell 
presided  and  Gov.  Prince,  Gov.  Stover  and  others  made 
strong  addresses;  and  closed  just  before  the  election  with 
a  series  of  three  meetings  at  Las  Vegas,  Cerrillos,  and 
Albuquerque,  addressed  by  Gov.  Prince  on  behalf  of  the 
Constitution;  two  of  which  by  request  of  the  Democratic 
committee  were  changed  into  joint  discussions  with  Mr. 
Childers  and  Mr.  Fergusson,  respectively. 

Major  Jose  D.  Sena  issued  a  manifesto  in  Spanish  con- 
tainino-  twenty-four  reasons  for  Statehood. 


CONSTITUTION    OF   1890.  55 

While  the  preponderance  of  work  had  been  done  in  favor 
of  adoption  yet  the  result  of  the  election  was  adverse  by 
a  large  majority,  the  official  vote  being  as  follows : 

Counties.  For.  Against. 

Bernalillo  .' 870  2,073 

Colfax  .' 234  651 

Dona  Ana  669  1,010 

Grant  699  544 

Lincoln 379  710 

Mora  265  1,536 

Rio  Arriba  428  1,272 

San  Juan  87  182 

San  Miguel 790  3,211 

Santa  Fe 1,068  1,549 

Sierra  227  717 

Socorro  447  1,068 

Taos  212  1,227 

Valencia  1,118  430 

Total ....7,493       16,180 

Majority  against  the  Constitution  8,687. 

The  peculiar  result  was  clearly  and  fairly  explained  in 
the  official  report  of  the  Governor  for  1891,  which  contains 
the  following  on  the  subject : 

"At  first  sight  this  might  appear  to  indicate  a  disincli- 
nation on  the  part  of  the  people  to  assume  the-  condition 
of  statehood.  This,  however,  is  not  the  case.  The  circum- 
stances were  peculiar.  The  apportionment  of  delegates  in 
the  Constitutional  Convention,  as  fixed  by  the  legislative 
act  which  provided  for  the  latter,  was  considered  by  the 
Democratic  party  leaders  to  be  unjust  to  that  party.  They 
therefore  refused  to  take  any  part  in  the  election  of  dele- 
gates, and  directed  their  party  friends  to  abstain  from  vot- 
ing. This  order  was  quite  generally  followed,  so  that  the 
convention  itself,  with  a  few  notable  exceptions,  was  sol- 
idly Republican.  While  this  condition  of  things,  by  throw- 
ing the  entire  responsibility  of  the  work  on  one  party,  no 
doubt  caused  the  production  of  a  more  perfect  instrument 
than  would  otherwise  have  been  drafted,  yet  it  alienated 


56  CONSTITUTION   OF   1890. 

the  bulk  of  the  Democratic  part}'  and  all  of  its  official  lead- 
ers from  its  support,  and  set  the  whole  machinery  of  that 
party  actively  at  work  to  bring  about  its  defeat.  Public 
speakers  traversed  the  Territory  in  opposition,  and  easily 
excited  prejudices  among  the  large  portion  of  the  people 
who  had  never  lived  in  a  State,  knew  but  little  of  the  re- 
sults of  State  government,  and  whose  fears  of  the  unknown 
were  thus  aroused  against  any  change  from  the  system 
with  which  they  were  familiar.  All  interests  opposed  to 
Statehood,  or  to  any  particular  provision  of  the  Constitu- 
tion in  question,  worked  behind  the  election  machinery 
thus  provided,  and  the  result  was  as  stated.  It  should  -be 
noted,  however,  that  the  political  orators  and  party  leaders 
most  active  in  their  opposition  all  repudiated  the  idea  that 
they  were  opposed  to  Statehood  itself,  and  asserted  that 
their  opposition  was  solely  to  the  proposed  Constitution 
and  the  method  of  its  formation,  and  that  on  the  main 
question  they  were  as  progressive  as  those  they  opposed." 

The  adverse  vote  had  no  effect  on  the  efforts  of  the  peo- 
ple for  self-government,  and  all  parties  proceeded  as  before 
in  endeavoring  to  secure  admission  through  an  Enabling 
Act  of  Congress. 

The  following  extracts  from  the  Constitution  of  1889- 
90  are  inserted  here  in  order  to  show  the  progressive  char- 
aracter  of  that  instrument,  and  also  as  suggestions  of  mat- 
ters which  should  not  be  overlooked  in  future  drafts  of 
Constitutions : 

ARTICLE  II. 

"Sec.  10.  All  lotteries  or  sale  of  lottery  tickets  are  pro- 
hibited. 

"Sec.  24.  Xo  officer,  or  person  authorized  by  this  Con- 
stitution to  appoint  any  person  to  office,  shall  ever  appoint 
to  office  any  person  who  may  be  related  to  him  by  blood  or 
marriage  within  the  fourth  degree  of  consanguinity  accord- 
ing to  the  civil  law  rule  of  computation/' 

Sec.  25.  The  legislature  shall  pass  liberal  exemption 
laws ;  and  there  shall  be  exempt  from  levy  and  forced  sale 
under  any  process  from  any  court  in  this  State,  the  parcel 
of  ground  and  the  buildings  thereon,  owned  by  the  debtor 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1890.  57 

and  occupied  by  him  as  a  residence,  he  being  a  householder 
and  having  a. family,  to  the  value  of  not  less  than  twenty- 
five  hundred  dollars." 

AETICLE  IV. 

"Sec.  13.  No  member  of  the  legislature  shall,  during 
the  term  for  which  he  was  elected,  be  appointed  or  elected 
to  any  civil  office  which  has  been  created,  or  the  emolu- 
ments thereof  have  been  increased,  during  such  term;  nor 
receive  any  civil  appointment  to  any  office  within  the 
State." 

"Sec.  18.  No  bill  shall  become  a  law  except  by  a  vote 
of  a  majority  of  all  the  members  elected  to  each  House,  nor 
unless  on  its  final  passage  the  vote  be  taken  by  ayes  and 
noes  and  the  names  of  those  voting  entered  on  the  journal." 

"Sec.  22.  The  legislature  shall  not  pass  special  or  local 
laws  on  any  of  the  following  subjects : 

(Here  follows  a  list  quite  similar  to  that  in  the  Consti- 
tution of  1872,  but  containing  the  following  items). 

"Claims  or  accounts  against  the  State  or  any  munici- 
pality ; 

"Refunding  money  paid  into  the  treasury; 

"Releasing  persons  from  any  debt  or  obligation  to  the 
State  or  any  municipal  or  quasi-municipal  corporation 
therein." 

"Sec.  23.  The  legislature  shall  not  grant  to  any  corpor- 
ation or  to  any  person,  any  rights,  privileges,  immunities, 
or  exemptions  which  shall  not  upon  the  same  terms  belong 
equally  to  all  persons." 

"Sec.  25.  No  bill  for  the  appropriation  of  money,  ex- 
cept for  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  government,  shall 
be  introduced  after  the  fiftieth  day  of  the  session  except 
by  unanimous  consent." 

ARTICLE  V. 

"Sec.  7.  When  any  bill  appropriating  money  from  the 
public  treasury  shall  have  passed  both  Houses  and  been 
presented  to  the  Governor,  he  shall  have  power  to  approve 
the  same  in  whole  or  in  part,  and  may  return  to  the  House 
in  which  it  originated  a  copy  of  any  part  or  parts  of  such 


58  CONSTITUTION   OF   1890; 

bill  which  he  may  disapprove,  with  his  objections  thereto, 
when  like  proceedings  shall  be  had  as  in  the  case  of  any  bill 
returned  by  the  Governor  as  a  whole." 

"Sec.  12.  Neither  the  State  treasurer  nor  auditor  of 
public  accounts  shall  hold  office  for  two  consecutive  terms, 
nor  shall  either  immediately  succeed  the  other  in  office." 

ARTICLE  VII. 

"Sec.  13.  Xo  person  shall  hold  more  than  one  lucrative 
office  at  the  same  time ;  but  no  appointment  in  the  militia, 
nor  the  office  of  notary  public,  shall  be  considered  a  lucra- 
tive office." 

ARTICLE  IX. 

"Sec.  1.  Provision  shall  be  made  by  law  for  the  estab- 
lishment and  maintenance  of  a  uniform  system  of  public 
schools  which  shall  be  open  to  and  sufficient  for  the  educa- 
tion of  all  the  children  in  the  State,  and  shall  be  under 
the  absolute  control  of  the  State,  and  free  from  sectarian 
or  church  control;  and  no  other  or  different  schools  shall 
ever  receive  any  aid  or  support  from  public  funds.  No 
sectarian  tenet,  creed  or  church  doctrine  shall  be  taught  in 
the  public  schools." 

ARTICLE  XII. 

"Sec.  4.  Xo  county,  town,  city  or  other  municipal  cor- 
poration shall  ever  become  a  stockholder  in  any  joint  stock 
company,  corporation  or  association  whatever,  or  raise 
money  for,  or  make  donations  to  or  loan  its  credit  to  or 
in  aid  of,  any  such  company,  corporation  or  association." 

"Sec.  11.  Xo  county  seat  shall  be  changed  until  a  prop- 
osition designating  the  place  to  which  the  removal  is  pro- 
posed shall  have  been  submitted  to  the  electors  of  the  coun- 
ty and  received  two-thirds  of  the  vote  cast  by  qualified 
electors." 

ARTICLE  XIII. 

"Sec.  8.  Any  combination  between  individuals,  associa- 
tions or  corporations  having  for  its  object,  or  which  shall 
operate,  to  control  the  price  of  any  article  ol  manufacture 


CONSTITUTION   OF   1890.  59 

or  commerce,  product  of  the  soil  or  mine,  is  hereby  pro- 
hibited and  declared  unlawful  and  against  public  policy; 
and  the  legislature  shall  provide  such  penalties  and  for- 
feitures as  shall  be  sufficient  to  prevent  all  such  unlawful 
combinations." 

"Sec.  9.  All  railroad,  transportation  and  express  com- 
panies doing  business  in  this  State  shall  be  common  car- 
riers, and  all  railroads  owned  or  controlled  by  such  com- 
panies shall  be  public  highways,  and  the  legislature  shall 
pass  laws  to  correct  abuses- and  prevent  unjust  discrimina- 
tion and  extortion  in  the  rates  of  freight,  express  and  pass- 
enger '  tariff s  on  the  different  railroads.,  and  in  the  charges 
of  telephone,  telegraphic  and  insurance  companies  in  this 
State,  and  enforce  such  laws  by  adequate  penalties,  to  the 
extent,  if  necessary  for  that  purpose,  of  forfeiture  of  their 
property  and  franchise." 

"Sec.  16.  Any  president  or  other  officer  of  any  banking 
institution,  who  shall  receive  or  assent  to  the  reception  of 
deposits  after  he  shall  have  knowledge  that  such  banking 
institution  is  insolvent  or  in  failing  circumstances,  shall 
be  individually  responsible  for  such  deposits  so  received." 


60  PROPOSED  CHANGES  OF   NAME. 

CHAPTER  IX. 


PROPOSED  CHAXGES  OF  XAME. 

In  other  chapters  we  have  had  occasion  to  refer  to  various 
proposed  changes  in  the  name  of  Xew  Mexico  when  it 
should  enter  the  Union  as  a  State,  especially  the  attempt 
in  the  Omnibus  Bill  in  the  56th  Congress  (1888)  to  call 
it  Montezuma,  and  the  peculiar  provision  in  the  bill  intro- 
duced by  Hon.  Antonio  Joseph,  Feb.  15,  1889,  which  ap- 
parently sought  to  accomplish  the  same  result  by  indirec- 
tion. Xo  such  changes  ever  found  favor  in  Xew  Mexico, 
and  the  project  was  denounced  as  soon  as  known. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  people  of  Xew  Mexico  held  in  the 
court  house,  in  the  city  of  Santa  Fe,  in  the  winter  of 
1888-9,  Hon.  James  A.  Williamson  presiding,  a  committee 
of  26,  representing  all  portions  of  the  Territory,  was  ap- 
pointed on  resolutions,  with  Judge  Hazledine  as  its  chair- 
man. The  committee  reported  the  following,  which  were 
unanimously  adopted: 

"Whereas,  the  name  of  Xew  Mexico  has  been  for  more 
than  three  hundred  years  applied  to  this  Territory,  and  the 
inhabitants  have  for  generations  held  that  name  in  venera- 
tion and  desire  to  perpetuate  it  in  their  history  as  the  name 
of  a  sovereign  State; 

"Resolved,  That  simple  justice  to  this  people  demands 
that  they  should  be  permitted  to  perpetuate  the  history  and 
achievements  of  their  forefathers  by  retaining  "New  Mexi- 
co" as  the  name  of  the  new  State/' 

These  Resolutions  were  presented  to  the  Senate  April 
?th,  1890,  accompanied  by  a  communication  from  Judge 
Hazledine. 

Xotwithstanding  the  strong  sentiment  in  Xew  Mexico 
against  a  change,  from  time  to  time  various  suggestions 
have  continued  to  be  made  as  to  a  new  name  for  the  future 
State,  and  some  of  these  have  been  persistently  advocated. 

A  favorite  argument  and  one  that  might  have  weight  if 
there  was  not  so  much  sentiment  and  such  a  long  historic 
association  involved,  is  that  the  name  Xew  Mexico  is  con- 


PROPOSED  CHANGES  OF    NAME.  61 

fusing  and  that  foreigners  and  even  Americans  from  the- 
east  are  likely  to  confound  it  with  the  Republic  of  Mexico. 
This  has  been  illustrated  by  numerous  anecdotes,  which 
are  often  true,  of  apparently  intelligent  citizens  of  New 
York  or  Massachusetts  who  direct  letters  to  Mexico  instead 
of  New  Mexico,  or  express  surprise  that  Albuquerque  is  in 
the  United  States  or  that  they  see  an  American  flag  in 
Santa  Fe  or  that  American  postage  stamps  are  good  in 
Las  Vegas;  and  it  is  said  that  the  old  name  is  an  obstacle 
to  immigrtion  and  will  handicap  the  progress  of  the  new 
State. 

One  of  the  most  persistent  efforts  in  this  direction  was 
to  establish  a  State  of  Lincoln,  especially  since  Washing- 
ton was  similarly  honored  in  the  far  northwest.  This  was 
earnestly  advocated  as  far  back  as  the  "60s"  and  even 
within  the  last  few  months  a  number  of  communications 
have  appeared  in  the  press  in  favor  of  its  adoption. 

David  Dudley  Field  for  some  reason  felt  a  great  interest 
in  the  subject  of  the  name  and  wrote  a  number  of  letters 
to  periodicals  some  twenty  years  ago  earnestly  advocating 
the  name  of  Montezuma;  and  he  even  went  to  the  trouble 
of  visiting  Washington  and  interviewing  prominent  mem- 
bers of  Congress  in  behalf  of  this  project.  The  peculiar 
provision  in  section  20  of  the  Omnibus  'Bill  of  1888  was 
probably  inserted  owing  to  his  solicitation  and  influence. 

More  recently,  Hon.  B.  S.  Rodey,  one  of  the  most  en- 
thusiastic of  Statehood  workers,  has  argued  strongly  in 
favor  of  the  adoption  of  Acoma  as  the  name  of  the  new 
State,  possibly  in  order  that  alphabetically  it  should  lead 
in  the  roll  at  National  Conventions  and  similar  meetings. 

This  fact  is  that  New  Mexico  is  altogether  the  most 
historic  and  dignified  name  in  the  United  States.  There 
is  but  one  geographical  name  in  the  entire  country  older 
than  this,  and  that  is  the  name  of  Florida.  Long  before 
the  settlement  of  Jamestown,  still  longer  before  the  Hol- 
landers came  to  New  Amsterdam  or  the  Pilgrims  landed 
at  Plymouth.,  the  name  of  New  Mexico  had  been  fixed  and 
established,  and  was  known  throughout  the  civilized  world. 
It  dates  back  to  1583,  more  than  three  and  a  quarter  cen- 


62  PROPOSED  CHANGES  OF   NAME. 

turies  ago.  In  that  year  Espejo  marched  up  the  Rio  Grande 
in  hopes  of  rescuing  from  a  martyr's  fate  the  three  Fran- 
ciscan missionaries  who  had  settled  upon  its  banks  near  the 
modern  Bernalillo. 

After  passing  the  desert  to  the  south,  he  came  into  the 
beautiful  and  fertile  valley  of  the  Great  River  of  the  North, 
and  was  so  struck  with  its  resemblance  to  some  of  the  most 
charming  spots  in  Xew  Spain  that  he  christened  it  "Xew 
Mexico/7  There  is  no  doubt  of  this  fact  or  of  its  date; 
they  do  not  rest  on  rumor  or  tradition. 

So  important  was  the  discovery  considered  and  so  much 
interest  did  it  create  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  that  the  Rev. 
Padre  Juan  Gonzales  de  Mendoza,  visiting  that  city  on  his 
return  from  his  travels  in  China,  incorporated  the  entire 
history  of  Espejo's  expedition  into  his  book  on  "The  Great 
Kingdom  of  China;77  and  as  such  it  was  not  only  published 
immediately  in  Spain,  but  translated  into  French,  Italian 
and  English,  and  thus  made  known  to  all  Europe.  A  copy 
of  the  French  edition,  published  in  Paris  in  1588,  is  among 
the  literary  treasures  of  the  Xew  Mexico  Historical  Society 
in  the  Palace  at  Santa  Fe.  It  contains  the  full  narration 
of  the  chivalrous  expedition  of  Espejo  from  the  day  that 
it  left  Santa  Barbara  in  Xew  Biscay  until  its  return.  And 
here  we  have  a  chapter  headed  "Of  Xew  Mexico  and  how 
it  was  discovered,'7  which  proceeds  to  tell  that  in  the  year 
1583  Antonio  de  Espejo,  after  traveling  up  the  Rio  del 
Xorte,  discovered  a  land  of  fifteen  provinces  which  he  called 
Xew  Mexico.  Thus  the  antiquity  of  the  name  is  absolutely 
established;  and  from  then  until  now,  through  all  these 
years  of  time,  that  name  has  never  changed. 

And  as  to  the  dignity  which  that  name  represents;  Xew 
Mexico  was  never  an  ordinary  province  of  Xew  Spain,  like 
the  regions  to  the  south  of  it.  It  was  always  a  separate 
government,  with  authorities  appointed  directly  by  the 
Spanish  king,  and  in  all  ancient  documents  it  was  called 
"The  Kingdom  of  Xew  Mexico.77  This  high  dignity  it  pos- 
sessed from  the  very  beginning.  The  oldest  document 
issued  in  Xew  Mexico,  of  which  we  have  anv  knowledge, 
was  written  before  the  Spanish  settlement  of  Santa  Fe,  at 


PROPOSED  CHANGES   OF    NAME.  63 

San  Gabriel,  •  the  first  capital  of  the  province,  situated 
where  Chamita  station  now  stands,  in  the  wide  valley  at  the 
junction  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  the  Chama.  It  is  signed 
by  the  first  Governor  and  Captain  General,  Don  Juan  de 
Onate,  under  date  of  October,  1603.  This  venerable  docu- 
ment describes  Onate  as  Governor,  Adelantado  and  Pacific- 
ator of  "The  Kingdom  and  Provinces  of  New  Mexico." 

An  examination  of  any  of  the  ancient  Spanish  docu- 
ments fortunately  preserved  to  New  Mexico  by  the  His- 
torical Society,  as  well  as  those  in  the  Archives  now  in 
Washington,  of  which  the  Territory  is  deprived  until  she 
has  the  power  of  Statehood  by  which  to  reclaim  them,  will 
prove  that  this  dignified  and  exalted  title  was  constantly 
applied  to  New  Mexico.  They  will  be  found  to  be  dated 
in  this  language :  "Done  in  the  City  of  Santa  Fe,  Capital 
of  the  Kingdom  and  Provinces  of  New  Mexico;"  and  the 
title  of  the  ruler  was  uniformly  "Governor  and  Captain 
General  of  this  Kingdom  and  Provinces  of  New  Mexico/' 
Everywhere  the  word  is  "reino,"  kingdom ;  and  there  is  no 
other  part  of  the  United  States  that  ever  possessed  so  ex- 
alted a  title. 

In  its  extent  as  well  as  in  its  title  New  Mexico  excelled 
in  dignity  and  grandeur.  By  consulting  any  of  the  ancient 
maps  in  the  Historical  Society's  rooms  it  will  be  seen  that 
for  more  than  a  century  the  whole  range  of  country  now 
constituting  the  southern  part  of  the  United  States,  from 
the  Pacific  to  the  Atlantic,  was  divided  between  New  Mexico 
and  Florida;  the  dividing  line  being  the  Mississippi  river. 
Then  for  another  hundred  years  there  were  three  divisions 
instead  of  two : — Louisiana  occupying  the  Mississippi  val- 
ley in  the  center ;  but  the  northern  boundary  of  New  Mexi- 
co running  up  indefinitely  to  the  arctic  regions. 

So  the  people  are  naturally  proud  of  the  historic  name. 
For  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  years  this  great  region 
had  been  known  as  New  Mexico.  It  is  true  that  in  later 
A^ears  it  has  lost  part  of  its  area.  Arizona,  with  parts  of 
Nevada  and  Utah,  have  been  taken  off  on  the  west.  South- 
ern Colorado  was  cut  off  to  enlarge  that  sister  State. 
Texas  occupies  much  of  its  old  eastern  territory.  But 


64  PROPOSED  CHANGES  OF   NAME. 

still,  through  all  the  ages,  under  varying  forms  of  govern- 
ment; under  three  different  nationalities;  sometimes  a 
kingdom,  sometimes  a  province,  sometimes  a  territory; 
through  revolutions  and  re-conquests  and  restorations, 
Xew  Mexico  had  progressed  under  its  original  proper  name 
unchanged  and  it  was  hoped  unchangable. 

It  is  a  fact  not  generally  known,  that  down  to  a  few  days 
before  the  final  report  of  the  Senate  Substitute  for  the 
Hamilton  Statehood  Bill,  in  1910,  there  was  a  strong  incli- 
nation in  very  influential  quarters  to  change  the  name  of 
Xew  Mexico  in  the  bill  to  something  modern,  and  this  was 
only  averted  by  the  positive  assurances  from  representatives 
of  the  Territory  that  any  such  change  would  meet  such 
strong  opposition  from  the  people  of  Xew  Mexico  as  to 
place  the  Statehood  proposition  in  grave  danger  of  rejec- 
tion. 

The  only  official  endorsement  of  a  change,  was  in  the 
passage  of  the  Joint  Statehood  Bill  of  1906,  giving  the 
consolidated  State  the  name  of  Arizona.  The  fact  is,  that 
the  people  of  the  Territory  at  large,  especially  the  descend- 
ants of  the  original  Spanish  settlers  and  the  older  residents 
among  the  English  speaking  population,  have  never  looked 
on  any  change  with  favor;  and  the  day  will  be  far  distant, 
if  it  ever  arrives,  when  the  people  of  the  present  Territory 
will  consent  to  a  change  which  will  break  their  historic 
connection  with  the  past  and  blot  from  the  map  a  name 
which  has  remained  there  continuously  for  over  three  hun- 
dred years. 


,5 -A 


FAVORABLE  INFLUENCES.  65 

CHAPTEE  X. 


FAVORABLE  INFLUENCES. 

Throughout  the  long  duration  of  the  "Struggle"  events 
have  occurred,  and  influences  have  been  exerted,  which 
have  aided  materially  in  the  ultimate  success  of  the  State- 
hood movement,  and  which  deserve  recognition  here.  Such 
are  the  planks  in  the  national  platforms  of  the  great  po- 
litical parties;  the  action  of  State  and  Territorial  Con- 
ventions on  the  subject;  the  formal  hearings  before  the 
committees  of  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives; 
the  written  statements  made  to  those  committees;  articles 
contributed  to  leading  journals  in  defense  of  New  Mexico 
and  advocacy  of  Statehood;  and  resolutions  passed  and 
addresses  made  on  the  subject  in  important  national  bodies 
of  large  influence. 

Some  of  the  more  important  of  these  will  be  referred 
to  in  separate  chapters,  under  their  appropriate  heads,  and 
others  are  grouped  together  here;  but  all  shoold  be  con- 
sidered in  connection  with  the  more  systematic  narrative 
of  events  in  the  record  of  Congressional  action. 

ARTICLES  IN  PERIODICALS. 

During  a  long  period,  articles  have  been  sent  to  journals 
of  large  influence,  by  ardent  friends  of  the  cause,  and  have 
had  their  influence  on  public  opinion. 

The  first  of  these  .after  the  dozen  years  of  inaction,  was 
contributed  by  Hon.  L.  B.  Prince  to  the  New  York  Trib- 
une under  date  of  January  10,  1889,  with,  the  title  "Ad- 
mission of  New  Mexico;  both  justice  and  expediency  de- 
mand it."  This  was  in  part  an  answer  to  a  scurrilous 
article  in  the  Chicago  Tribune,  and  an  argument  for  im- 
mediate admission.  It  was  followed  up  by  similar  arti- 
cles in  the  New  York  Mail  and  Express  on  January  16th, 
1889,  and  the  Indianapolis  Journal  on  January  20th,  1889. 
Somewhat  later  he  was  invited  by  the  editor  of  the  North 
American  Review  to  contribute  an  article  on  the  subject 
to  that  periodical,  which  gave  an  opportunity  of  present- 


66  FAVORABLE  INFLUENCES. 

ing  the  facts  to  the  most  cultivated  constituency  in  the 
country. 

On  December  9th,  1893,  Judge  A.  L.  Morrison  sent  an 
excellent  and  effective  article  to  the  Chicago  Inter-Ocean, 
defending  the  people  of  New  Mexico  from  the  strictures 
contained  in  an  editorial  in  that  journal  a  few  days  before. 

On  January  4,  1900,  Col.  B.  E.  Twitchell  wrote  a  vig- 
orous and  characteristic  article  to  the  St.  Louis  Globe- 
Democrat,  entitled  "Progress  of  New  Mexico;  some  figures 
that  serve  to  correct  false  impressions.'7  As  introduction 
he  said :  "The  Territory  of  New  Mexico  has  been  the  most 
maligned,  the  least  appreciated  and  the  most  poorly  un- 
derstood portion  of  Uncle  Sam's  domain."  "If  there  is 
one  thing  above  another  that  the  ordinary  dweller  in  the 
lands  east  of  the  Mississippi  can  thoroughly  understand, 
ir  is  figures.  Your  true-blue  Yankee  has  a  mania  for 
figures  and  statistics.  One  of  the  first  things  a  Bostonese 
infant  has  impressed  upon  him  is  the  fact  that  figures  don't 
lie.'"'  And  then  he  proceeded  with  some  most  convincing 
statistics. 

During  his  prolonged  service  in  Washington,  Hon.  B. 
S.  Rodey  wrote  numerous  letters  to  the  eastern  press,  cor- 
recting misstatements  and  appealing  for  justice  to  New 
Mexico  in  no  uncertain  tones  and  in  his  emphatic  and  un- 
mistakable language;  and  these  undoubtedly  had  an  ex- 
cellent effect  in  educating  public  opinion  in  that  section 
of  the  country. 

On  January  6th,  1903,  Gov.  Prince  wrote  another  letter 
to  the  Xew  York  Tribune,  which  was  afterwards  printed 
in  pamphlet  form  and  widely  distributed  to  members  of 
Congress  and  others,  entitled  "The  Claims  of  New  Mexico." 

Many  other  patriotic  citizens  have  aided  in  this  work 
of  publicity,  with  good  results;  though  the  general  ignor- 
ance of  the  country  as  to  the  resources  and  conditions  of 
the  southwest  seems  so  dense  that  it  is  difficult  to  dispel. 
It  is  not  many  years  since  a  leading  journal  of  national 
influences  spoke  of  "four-fifths  of  the  people"  of  New 
Mexico  being  "Peon  Aztec  Indians,"  whatever  they  may  be ! 


FAVORABLE  INFLUENCES.  67 

STATEHOOD  CONVENTIONS. 

A  Statehood  Convention  was  called  by  Gov.  Otero  to 
express  the  sentiment  of  the  people  relative  to  the  admis- 
sion of  New  Mexico  to  the  Union,  and  met  at  Albuquer- 
que on  October  15th  and  16th,  1901.  Among  other  notable 
speeches,  was  one  by  Gov.  Murphy  of  Arizona.  The  con- 
vention passed  strong  resolutions,  which  were  reported 
by  a  committee  headed  by  L.  C.  Grove  of  San  Juan  Coun- 
tv,  embodying  not  only  arguments  and  statements  of  facts, 
but  declarations  of  principles  in  clear  and  convincing  terms. 
They  are  drawn  in  the  general  style  of  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  and  contain  an  arraignment  of  Congress 
similar  to  that  of  King  George  the  Third  in  the  Declara- 
tion. 

After  a  suitable  preamble  they  "solemnly  publish  and 
declare  that  New  Mexico  of  right  ought  to  be  a  free  and 
independent  State,"  and  they  close  with  the  following 
sentences : 

"WHEREFORE,  Having  endured  all  these  things, 
through  all  these  years,  supported  the  flag  and  the  Consti- 
tution in  two  wars,  we  most  respectfully  appeal  to  the 
sense  of  justice  and  righteousness  of  the  Congress,  and 

PRAY:  That  it  will  not  permit  a  government  of  our 
people,  for  our  people  and  by  our  people  to  perish  from 
our  hopes,  but  that  under  God  it  will  grant  us  a 'new  lease 
of  freedom  by  granting  us  STATEHOOD/' 

Another  Statehood  Convention,  called  by  Gov.  Curry, 
met  in  the  Capitol  at  Santa  Fe,  on  November  30th,  1907, 
and  was  largely  attended  from  various  sections  of  the 
Territory  by  representative  citizens.  The  governor;  secre- 
tary and  judges  of  the  Supreme  Court,  occupied  the  plat- 
form. Hon,  T.  B.  Catron  delivered  an  address  of  welcome, 
and  the  convention  temporarily  organized  with  Gov.  Curry 
as  president,  and  Hon.  J.  M.  Hervey  and  Hon.  R.  L.  Baca 
as  secretaries.  Subsequently  Hon.  W.  S.  Hopewell  was 
made  permanent  president. 

Gov.  Curry  announced  good  tidings  from  Washington, 
where  he  had  recently  seen  the  President  and  various 
prominent  men  and  had  received  gratifying  and  encour- 


68  FAVORABLE  INFLUENCES. 

aging  assurances.  Hon.  L.  B.  Prince  presented  the  latest 
Trans-Mississippi  resolutions  and  told  of  the  enthusiasm 
that  he  had  just  witnessed  in  Oklahoma  over  their  ac- 
quired Statehood.  Judge  Morrison  counseled  harmony 
and  careful  avoidance  of  partisanship.  A  number  of  brief 
addresses  were  made,,  and  resolutions  urging  immediate 
action  on  the  Statehood  Bill  were  passed  and  directed  to 
bo  sent  to  Washington. 

WESTEEX   COXGEESSES. 

Public  sentiment  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Great 
West  has  been  strongly  in  favor  of  the  admission  of  Xew 
Mexico  from  the  beginning,  and  every  proper  opportunity 
has  been  taken  advantage  of  to  make  this  manifest  in 
the  way  of  resolutions  passed  by  important  representative 
bodies.  The  most  widely  known  and  influential  of  these 
is  the  Trans-Mississippi  Commercial  Congress.,  and  begin- 
ning in  1892  at  Xew  Orleans,  that  great  organization  has 
given  at  each  of  its  annual  sessions,  expression  to  its  be- 
lief and  its  wishes  on  this  subject. 

Hon.  L.  Bradford  Prince  was  for  many  years  the  rep- 
resentative of  Xew  Mexico  in  that  Congress,  of  which  he 
was  president  in  1892  and  presiding  vice-president  at  three 
other  sessions,  and  he  regularly  presented  the  resolutions, 
which  were  always  unanimously  adopted.  This  included 
the  Congresses  at  Xew  Orleans,  Ogden,  San  Francisco, 
St.  Louis,  Omaha,  Salt  Lake,  Wichita,  Houston,  and 
C ripple  Creek,  as  well  as  more  recent  ones.  Usually  a 
brief  statement  was  all  that  was  required  to  insure  this 
result,  but  at  Omaha  in  1895,  and  at  Cripple  Creek  in 
July,  1901,  he  made  addresses  of  considerable  length  which 
were  published  in  pamphlet  form  and  aided  in  creating 
a  correct  public  sentiment. 

The  Xational  Irrigation  Congress  has  always  carefully 
refrained  from  passing  any  resolution  not  directly  con- 
nected with  irrigation  and  related  subjects;  but  at  the 
session  held  in  Colorado  Springs  in  1892  it  made  an  ex- 
ception to  this  rule  and  on  motion  of  Hon.  G.  A.  Eichard- 
son  of  Xew  Mexico,  after  an  enthusiastic  speech  from  Hon. 


FAVORABLE   INFLUENCES.  69 

John  Henry  Smith  of  Utah,  passed  a  resolution  in  favor 
of  New  Mexican  Statehood. 

Many  other  western  organizations  have  followed  the  lead 
of  these  representative  bodies  and  added  the  weight  of 
their  influence  in  favor  of  justice  to  New  Mexico;  and  to 
all  of  these  the  thanks  of  her  people  are  due. 


70  NATIONAL   CONVENTIONS. 

CHAPTER  XL 


X  ATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 

In  this  connection  it  would  be  improper  to  omit  mention 
of  the  various  planks  in  the  platforms  of  the  leading 
parties  of  the  country  as  adopted  in  their  National  Con- 
ventions in  presidential  years;  although  their  wording  has 
usually  been  so  careful  and  almost  indefinite  that  their 
spirit  might  be  violated  without  actually  contradicting 
their  letter. 

In  1888  the  Republican  National  Convention  at  Chicago, 
which  was  earnestly  requested  to  recommend  Statehood, 
passed  the  following  resolution  on  that  subject,  which  al- 
though excellent  is  rather  general  in  the  language  em- 
ployed : 

"The  government  by  Congress  of  the  Territories  is  based 
upon  necessity  only,  to  the  end  that  they  may  become 
States  in  the  Union;  therefore,  whenever  the  conditions 
of  population,  material  resources,  public  intelligence,  and 
morality,  are  such  as  to  insure  a  stable  local  government 
therein,  the  people  of  such  Territories  should  be  permitted, 
as  a  right  inherent  in  them,  to  form  for  themselves  con- 
stitutions and  State  governments  and  be  admitted  into 
the  Union." 

The  Democraic  National  Convention  at  St.  Louis  in  the 
same  year  took  much  stronger  ground  and  mentioned  New 
Mexico  by  name.  It  is  to  be  remembered  in  considering 
these  resolutions  that  at  that  time  and  until  1896  Utah 
was  still  a  Territory  and  there  was  so  much  popular  antag- 
onism to  the  admission  of  that  Territory  that  both  parties 
handled  the  subject  with  considerable  care.  The  following 
is  the  democratic  plank: 

"Resolved,  That  a  just  and  liberal  policy  should  be  pur- 
sued in  reference  to  the  Territories;  that  the  right  of  self 
government  is  inherent  in  the  people  and  guaranteed  un- 
der the  Constitution;  that  the  Territories  of  Washington, 
Dakota,  Montana  and  New  Mexico  are,  by  virtue  of  popu- 
lation and  development,  entitled  to  admission  into  the 


NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS.  71 

Union  of  States;  and  we  unqualifiedly  condemn  the  course 
of  the  republican  party  in  refusing  Statehood  and  self 
government  to  their  people." 

In  1892  the  National  Republican  Convention  gave  very 
meagre  space  to  its  plank  on  this  subject.  The  following 
is  the  resolution: 

"We  favor  the  admission  of  the  remaining  Territories 
at  the  earliest  practicable  day,  having  due  regard  to  the 
interests  of  the  people  of  the  Territories  and  the  United 
States." 

The  democratic  convention  at  Chicago  in  the  same  year 
was  rather  more  outspoken  in  its  statement,  as  it  had  been 
four  years  before.  Its  plank  was  as  follows : 

"We  approve  the  action  of  the  present  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives in  passing  bills  for  the  admission  into  the  Union 
as  States  of  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona, 
and  we  favor  the  early  admission  of  all  the  Territories 
having  necessary  population  and  resources  to  admit  them 
to  Statehood." 

Four  years  after,  in  1896,  the  republican  national  con- 
vention again  passed  a  resolution  on  the  subject,  but  did 
not  vary  in  a  single  word  from  the  language  of  the  reso- 
lution which  was  passed  in  1892. 

The  democratic  national  convention  at  Chicago  also  fol- 
lowed very  nearly  the  language  which  it  employed  four 
years  before,  but  it  added  Oklahoma  to  the  list  of  Terri- 
tories specifically  mentioned,  the  plank  in  their  platform 
being  as  follows : 

'We  favor  the  admission  of  the  Territories  of  New  Mex- 
ico, Arizona  and  Oklahoma  into  the  Union  as  states,  and 
we  favor  the  early  admission  of  all  the  Territories  having 
the  necessary  population  and  resources  to  entitle  them  to 
Statehood." 

In  1900  the  Republican  National  Convention  at  Phila- 
delphia made  its  plank  on  Statehood  even  shorter  than  be- 
fore but  very  much  more  distinct.  The  resolution  reads 
as  follows : 

"We  favor  home  rule  for,  and  the  early  admission  to 
Statehood  of,  the  Territories  of  New  Mexico,  Arizona  and 
Oklahoma." 


72  NATIONAL  CONVENTIONS. 

The  Democratic  Convention  at  Kansas  City  made  the 
most  political  capital  possible  out  of  the  situation  and  in 
iti  promise  went  further  than  the  republicans  by  the  use 
of  the  important  word  "immediate."  The  plank  in  the 
Xational  platform  reads  as  follows: 

"We  denounce  the  failure  of  the  republican  party. to 
carry  out  its  pledges  to  grant  Statehood  to  the  Territories 
of  Arizona,  Xew  Mexico  and  Oklahoma.  We  promise  the 
people  of  those  Territories  immediate  Statehood,,  and  home 
rule  during  their  condition  as  Territories." 

In  1904  the  Republican  Xational  Convention,  which  met 
in  Chicago,  added  nothing  to  its  previous  declarations. 

The  Democratic  Xational  Convention,  at  St.  Louis,  add- 
ed to  its  former  statement  a  declaration  in  favor  of  separ- 
ate Statehood  for  Xew  Mexico  and  Arizona,  as  Joint 
Statehood  had  become  somewhat  of  an  issue.  The  State- 
hood plank  in  its  platform  is  as  follows: 

"We  favor  the  admission  of  the  Territory  of  Oklahoma 
and  the  Indian  Territory.  We  also  favor  the  immediate 
admission  of  Arizona  and  Xew  Mexico,  as  separate  States." 

Finally  we  come  to  1908. 

The  Democratic  Xational  Convention  at  Denver  reiter- 
ated its  former  declarations  and  pledges  in  amplified  form. 
The  platform  says: 

"The  Xational  Democratic  party  has  for  the  last  six- 
teen years  labored  for  the  admission  of  Arizona  and  Xew 
Mexico,  as  separate  States  of  the  Federal  Union,  and 
recognizing  that  each  possesses  every  qualification  to  suc- 
cessfully maintain  separate  State  governments,  we  favor 
the  immediate  admission  of  these  Territories  as  separate 
States." 

The  Republican  Xational  Convention,  again  meeting  in 
Chicago,  preserved  its  characteristic  brevity  of  expression, 
but,  in  the  two  lines  of  its  declaration,  for  the  first  time 
gave  an  unequivocal  pledge  in  favor  not  only  of  separate 
Statehood,  but  of  immediate  admission.  This  concession 
by  eastern  republicans  was  not  obtained  without  a  long 
and  vigorous  struggle  by  the  delegates  from  Xew  Mexico 
and  their  friends.  The  credit  for  final  success,  by  the  in- 


NATIONAL   CONVENTIONS.  73 

sertion  of  the  word  "immediate,"  is  due  to  Hon.  H.  0. 
Bursum,  chairman  of  the  Territorial  Eepublican  Commit- 
tee, through  whose  tact  and  pertinacity  it  was  achieved. 

While  the  exact  wording  of  political  platforms  is  not 
always  of  great  importance,  and  too  often  the  platforms 
themselves  are  regarded  as  more  for  campaign  use  than 
an  inviolable  pledge  of  official  action;  yet  in  this  case  the 
clear  and  distinct  declaration  of  the  resolution  has  been 
of  the  highest  value.  Its  very  brevity  added  to  its  force. 
President  Taft  has  taken  the  highest  ground  as  to  the 
obligation  of  a  party  and  its  official  representatives  to 
carry  into  effect  the  pledges  of  its  declaration  of  princi- 
ples. Finding  in  the  Chicago  platform  this  unequivocal 
statement  regarding  "immediate  admission/'  he  insisted 
that  a  Eepublican  Congress  was  bound  to  carry  it  into 
effect.  Without  this  conscientious  construction  of  party 
honor  and  party  duty,  on  the  part  of  the  President,  it  is 
more  than  doubtful  whether  the  Statehood  Bill  of  1910 
would  have  been  passed.  Without  this  clear-cut  plank,  he 
would  not  have  felt  obliged  to  insist  on  its  fulfilment;  so 
that  while  so  many  platform  declarations  above  recorded 
have  been  without  effect,  the  very  important  influence  of 
the  last  one  adds  new  dignity  and  respect  to  the  solemnly 
adopted  pledges  of  great  parties. 


74  HEARINGS -IN   WASHINGTON. 

CHAPTER  XII. 


HEAKINGS  IN  WASHIXGTOK 

Since  the  revival  of  interest  in  Statehood  about  twenty 
years  ago,  and  during  the  consideration  of  the  constant 
succession  of  bills  of  various  kinds  relating  to  admission 
to  the  Union,  by  the  Committees  on  Territories  of  the 
House  and  the  Senate,  there  have  been  a  number  of  hear- 
ings on  the  subject,  many  of  them  of  importance,  the 
printed  reports  of  which  shed  much  light  on  the  progress 
of  the  struggle  and  the  changing  aspects  in  which  the  sub- 
ject has  been  presented. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  enumerate  all  of  these,  but  the 
principal  ones,  which  led  to  results  or  influenced  public 
opinion,  will  be  briefly  referred  to. 

1890. 

The  first  of  these  was  on  May  5,  1890,  before  the  Senate 
Committee  on  Territories,  of  which  Senator  0.  H.  Platt 
of  Connecticut  was  then  chairman.  The  committee  was 
the  one  of  fifty-four  members  appointed  by  the  Governor 
at  the  formal  request  of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration,  to 
visit  Washington,  principally  in  relation  to  a  land  court, 
to  school  lands  and  to  irrigation.  It  was  entirely  a  volun- 
tary matter  of  patriotic  service,  each  member  paying  his 
own  expenses,  and  their  character  is  shown  by  the  fact  that 
no  less  than  twenty-nine — more  than  half  the  entire  dele- 
gation appointed, — actually  went  to  Washington,  and  re- 
mained there  engaged  in  the  work  of  their  mission  for 
nearly  a  month.  It  was  undoubtedly  the  strongest  dele- 
gation which  ever  visited  Washington  from  Xew  Mexico 
and  the  most  successful  in  the  accomplishment  of  results. 
The  passage  of  the  Act  creating  the  Court  of  Private  Land 
Claims,  which  settled  the  titles  to  the  land  grants  in  the 
Territory,  was  the  most  immediate  result  of  its  labors. 
It  visited  the  President,  every  member  of  the  Cabinet,  the 
Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury,  the  Commissioner 
and  Deputy  Commissioner  of  the  Land  Office  and  the  Mexi- 
can minister;  and  was  afforded  hearings  by  the  Senate 


HEARINGS  IN    WASHINGTON.  75 

Committees  on  Territories,  Public  Lands  and  Private 
Land  Claims,  and  by  the  House  Committees  on  Territories, 
Education,  Private  Land  Claims,,  and  Irrigation.  The 
reasons  which  induced  the  committee  to  take  up  the  mat- 
ter of  Statehood  appears  in  the  proceedings  hereafter  men- 
tioned. 

The  names  of  the  twenty-nine  actually  present  in  Wash- 
ington were  as  follows : 

Hon.  L.  Bradford  Prince,  Governor. 

Hon.  Trinidad  Alarid,  Territorial  Auditor. 

Hon.  S.  B.  Axtell,  ex-Governor  and  ex-Chief  Justice. 

A.  J.  Bahney,  P.  M.,  Socorro. 

Ira  M.  Bond,  Editor,  Albuquerque. 

S.  E.  Booth,  Chairman  County  Commissioners,  San 
Miguel  County. 

George  H.  Cross,  News  Edttor,  New  Mexican. 

C.  H.  Gildersleeve,  Santa  Fe. 

S.  L.  Hauck,  San  Pedro. 

Hon.  W.  C.  Hazledine,  Genl.  Solicitor  A.  &  P.  E,  E. 

W.  H.  Kennedy,  Cerrillos. 

J.  C.  Lea,  Eoswell. 

Col.  W.  G.  Marmon,  Laguna. 

Hon.  T.  B.  Mills,  Las  Vegas. 

J.  S.  Eaynolds,  Pres.  1st  Nat.  Bank,  Albuquerque. 

Frank  W.  Smith,  Las  Cruces. 

E.  W.  Spencer,  Albuquerque. 

Hon.  E.  S.  Stover,  Albuquerque. 

A.  Staab,  Santa  Fe. 

Hon.  L.  S.  Trimble,  Ex-M.  C.,  Albuquerque. 

George  H.  Utter,  Silver  City. 

John  P.  Victory,  Santa  Fe. 

Gen.  J.  A.  Williamson,  Presi.  A.  &  P.  E.  E. 

W.  C.  Wrigley,  Dist.  Atty.,  Eaton. 

Levi  A.  Hughes,  Int.  Eevenue  Collector. 

J.  B.  Bowman,  Las  Cruces. 

George  F.  Patrick,  Silver  City. 

Hon.  Thomas  Smith,  ex-U.  S.  Attorney. 

At  the  hearing,  Gov.  Prince  opened  the  discussion,  as 
follows : 


76  HEARINGS   IN    WASHINGTON. 

Mr.  Chairman: — I  would  like  to  call  attention  to  the 
size  and  character  of  the  delegation  present  this  morning. 
It  is  not  the  ordinary  kind  of  delegation  coming  of  its 
own  volition  to  ask  for  legislation  to  secure  personal  in- 
terests, but  it  is  a  regularly  commissioned  delegation,  ap- 
pointed at  the  instance  of  the  Bureau  of  Immigration  of 
New  Mexico  to  come  to  Washington  to  secure,  if  possible, 
certain  legislation  looking  to  the  material  development  of 
that  country. 

When  they  arrived  here  they  found  that  the  subjects 
as  to  which  they  had  been  sent,  apparently  cannot  be  ob- 
tained without  Statehood.  Some  of  them  naturally  follow 
admission  to  the  Union,  and  others  it  seems  practically 
impossible  to  attain  until  we  have  representation  in  both 
Houses  of  Congress.  So  that  this  committee,  which  came 
here  to  attend  to  these  matters  relating  to  the  material 
prosperity  of  the  Territory,  has  been  forced  to  the  conclu- 
sion unanimously  that  that  prosperity  cannot  be  attained 
without  Statehood.  We  therefore  come  before  you  today, 
Democrats  and  Republicans,  representing  all  parts  of  the 
Territory  and  every  interest  in  it,  unanimously  to  ask  for 
Statehood  for  New  Mexico. 

After  presenting  the  claims  of  the  Territory  quite  fully, 
the  discussion  was  continued  by  Hon.  E.  S.  Stover,  Ira 
M.  Bond,  George  F.  Patrick,  Hon.  L.  S.  Trimble,  George 
H.  Utter,  Col.  Thomas  Smith,  Hon.  J.  P.  Victory  and 
Hon.  Antonio  Joseph;  the  Senators  taking  an  active  part 
being  the  chairman  and  Senators  Cullum,  Stewart,  Payne, 
and  Manderson. 

This  same  committee  of  twenty-nine  also  had  a  hearing 
before  the  House  Committee  on  Territories,  which  courte- 
ously held  a  special  session  for  the  purpose,  on  April  30th, 
1890.  A  somewhat  similar  presentation  of  the  claims  of 
New  Mexico  was  made  by  Gov.  Prince,  Judge  Trimble  and 
Judge  Axtell,  and  numerous  questions  by  members  of  the 
committee,  including  Mr.  Springer  of  Illinois,  Mr.  Dorsey 
of  Nebraska,  and  others,  were  satisfactorily  answered. 


HEARINGS  IN    WASHINGTON.  77 

1902. 

House  Bill  No.  12543.,  providing  for  the  admission  of 
Arizona,  New  Mexico  and  Oklahoma  to  Statehood,  having 
been  referred  to  the  Senate  Committee  on  Territories,  that 
committee  gave  a  hearing  to  the  delegates  of  those  Terri- 
.tcries  and  such  parties  as  they  might  present,  on  June 
28th  and  30th,  1902. 

This  was  immediately  subsequent  to  the  passage  in  the 
Senate  of  the  resolution  empowering  the  committee  to  visit 
the  Territories  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  conditions 
there. 

Of  the  Senate  Committee  there  were  present  Senators 
Beveridge,  (Chairman),  Bard,  Bate,  Dillingham,  Heit- 
feld,  and  Keene. 

The  first  statement  received  was  that  of  Hon.  Marcus 
A.  Smith,  delegate  from  Arizona,  presenting  the  claims  o£ 
that  Territory,  and  laying  stress  on  the  injustice  done  as 
to  population,  by  the  census  of  1900. 

Hon.  Bernard  S.  Rodey,  delegate  from  New  Mexico,  fol- 
lowed, on  behalf  of  that  Territory,  and  made  a  very  strong 
and  comprehensive  statement  regarding  its  history,  popu- 
lation, resources,  finances,  and  the  general  character  of 
the  people.  The  members  of  the  committee  asked  a  multi- 
tude of  questions,  largely  as  to  the  courts,  schools  and  lan- 
guage. 

He  was  followed  by  Maj.  W.  H.  H.  Llewellyn,  of  Las 
Cruces,  who  made  a  forcible  plea  for  Statehood  and  gave 
valuable  testimony  as  to  the  valley  of  the  Eio  Grande,  the 
prospects  of  irrigation,  public  education,  the  desire  for 
Statehood  and  other  appropriate  matters. 

John  L.  Gay  of  the  Railway  Mail  Service  was  then  ex- 
amined, and  was  succeeded  by  Ira  M.  Bond,  the  well  known 
editor  and  correspondent,  who  gave  the  result  of  many 
years  of  experience  in  New  Mexico,  as  to  the  people,  their 
good  citizenship,  loyalty  and  various  characteristics. 

A.  F.  Codington  then  spoke  of  the  universal  desire  for 
Statehood,  and  Mr.  Eodey  closed  the  hearing  so  far  as  New 
Mexico  was  concerned  by  a  statement  as  to  irrigation  and 
water  rights.  During  the  entire  hearing,  the  members  of" 


78  HEARINGS  IN   WASHINGTON. 

the  committee   displayed  much  interest  and   occupied    a 
large  proportion  of  the  time  by  questions. 

1903. 

In  December,  1903,  Delegate  Eodey's  Bill  for  the  ad- 
mission of  New  Mexico  being  before  the  committee,  the 
Delegate  arranged  for  a  hearing  before  the  Committee  on 
Territories  of  the  House,  with  special  reference  to  dispar- 
aging statements  that  had. appeared  in  the  recent  report 
of  the  Senate  Committee  made  by  Senator  Beveridge. 

The  hearing  commenced  on  Dec.  llth  and  was  continued 
on  December  15th,  17th  and  18th,  Hon.  Edward  L.  Hamil- 
ton presiding  and  twelve  other  members  of  the  committee 
being  present.  T,he  discussion  was  opened  by  Hon.  G.  A. 
Eichardson  of  Eoswell  in  an  able  address,  and  he  was  fol- 
lowed by  Hon.  L.  B.  Prince,  Mayor  Ishmael  Sparks  of 
Santa  Fe,  and  Hon.  B.  S.  Eodey  then  delegate  from  New 
Mexico.  The  arguments  of  the  New  Mexicans  were  mostly 
on  the  general  principles  involved  in  the  claim  for  self  gov- 
ernment, and  the  questions  of  the  committee  were  mainly 
directed  to  the  condition  of  the  native  population.  The 
members  of  the  committee  taking  the  most  active  part  in 
the  discussion  were  the  Chairman  and  Messrs.  Lloyd. 
Powers,  Eobinson,  Spalding,  Sterling,  Capron  and  Wilson. 

1906. 

In  January,  1906,  the  Joint  Statehood  Bill  for  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona  being  before  the  House  Committee  on 
Territories,  a  protracted  hearing  was  held  which  extended 
continuously  from  January  16th  to  January  20th,  inclu- 
sive, the  report  of  which  occupied  190  pages.  Hon.  Ed- 
ward L.  Hamilton,  the  chairman,  presided,  with  twelve 
others  of  the  committee  present. 

There  was  a  very  large  delegation  in  attendance  from 
Arizona,  all  of  whom  were  opposed  to  Joint  Statehood,  and 
presented  arguments  and  facts  bearing  on  that  issue.  Mr. 
Dwight  B.  Heard  was  chairman  of  the  delegation  and  open- 
ed the  discussion  after  an  introduction  by  ex-Delegate 
Smith.  He  was  followed  by  Eugene  B.  O'Neill,  E.  E. 
Morrison,  Gov.  N.  0.  Murphy,  W.  S.  Sturgis,  Gen.  A.  J. 
Sampson,  Dr.  A.  J.  Chandler,  Eev.  H.  M.  Shields,  B.  A. 


HEARINGS  IN    WASHINGTON.  79 

Fowler,  A.  J.  Doran,  Eoy  S.  Goodrich,  E.  S.  Campbell, 
J.  J.  Biggs,  and  George  French  of  Arizona;  and  Senator 
W.  A.  Clark  of  Montana,  also  spoke  on  the  subject  of  tax- 
ation of  mines  in  Arizona.  Hon.  W.  H.  Andrews  spoke 
briefly  and  Hon.  B.  S.  Bodey  at  considerable  length  in  sup- 
port of  the  project  for  Joint  Statehood.  Extracts  from 
some  of  the  speeches  of  the  Arizona  delegates  have  been 
reproduced  herein  in  connection  with  the  strong  feeling 
in  that  Territory  against  Joint  Statehood  with  New 
Mexico. 

1908. 

In  January,  1908,  immediate  action  on  the  Statehood 
Bill  introduced  by  Delegate  Andrews  had  been  promised, 
and  to  facilitate  it,  Gov.  Curry  of  New  Mexico  proceeded 
to  Washington  and  arrangements  were  made  for  a  hearing 
before  the  House  Committee  on  Territories. 

This  hearing  was  held  on  January  29th  and  was  opened 
by  an  address  by  Hon.  L.  B.  Prince,  who  presented  the 
Resolutions  of  the  Trans-Mississippi  Congress  passed 
unanimously  at  its  session  at  Muskogee  in  November,  1907,« 
strongly  endorsing  immediate  Statehood  for  New  Mexico. 
He  then  proceeded  to  present  the  usual  arguments  for  ad- 
mission, based  on  the  right  to  self  government,  on  popula- 
tion, wealth,  fairness,  etc.,  but  laying  particular  stress  on 
the  vicious  and  un-American  character  of  a  provincial  form 
of  government.  He  was  followed  by  Gov.  Curry,  who  in- 
vited the  committee,  in  case  it  did  not  take  immediate  ac- 
tion, to  visit  New  Mexico  and  examine  the  conditions  for 
themselves.  Hon.  W.  H.  Andrews,  the  Congressional 
Delegate,  closed  the  session  with  an  appeal  for  favorable 
action.  The  members  of  the  committee  evincing  special 
interest  by  taking  part  in  the  discusion  were  the  chairman 
and  Messrs.  Houston,  Davenport,  Higgins,  etc. 

1910. 

The  last  important  hearing  was  that  held  in  February, 
1910,  before  the  Senate  Committee  on  Territories  in  the 
hope  of  inducing  an  early  report  on  the  House  Committee 
bill,  generally  called  the  "Hamilton  Bill,"  for  the  admis- 
sion of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  as  separate  States,  which 


90  HEARINGS  IN    WASHINGTON. 

had  passed  the  House  and  was  then  in  the  Senate  Commit- 
tee. At  this  hearing,  which  extended  over  three  days,  the 
18th,,  19th  and  20th,  both  Territories  were  represented. 
The  special  subjects  that  were  discussed  outside  of  the 
general  issues,  were  the  payment  of  certain  county  bonds 
validated  by  Act  of  Congress,  and  a  provision  of  the  Ari- 
zona election  law  of  March  10th,  1909,  which  practically 
disfranchised  a  large  class  of  citizens. 

Senator  Beveridge  presided  and  Senators  Dillingham, 
Burnharn,  Kean,  Piles,  Frazier,  Hughes,  Dick,  and  Owen 
were  present. 

Those  taking  part  in  the  discussion  for  Xew  Mexico  were 
Hon.  L.  B.  Prince,  Hon.  C.  A.  Spiess,  and  Hon.  X.  B. 
Laughlin ;  Mr.  L.  A.  Hughes  also  being  present ;  and  from 
Arizona,  Hon.  Mark  Smith,  Hon.  Ealph  H.  Cameron, 
Eobert  E.  Morrison  and  J.  L.  Hubbell;  and  also  Hon. 
Bird  S.  Coler  of  Brooktyn,  and  Rev.  W.  H.  Ketchem  of 
Washington.  In  the  Xew  Mexico  hearing,  which  occupied 
the  18th  of  February,  besides  the  discussion  of  the  bonds, 
Gov.  Prince  laid  special  stress  on  the  previous  experience 
of  the  people  of  Xew  Mexico  in  framing  constitutions  of 
great  excellence,  and  exhibited  copies  of  the  Constitution 
of  1850  and  that  of  1890  to  the  committee.  All  of  the 
speakers,  in  answer  to  Senator  Beveridge,  assured  him  that 
they  approved  the  strict  provisions  of  the  proposed  law  as 
to  the  disposition  of  the  public  land. 

The  report  of  the  bill,  and  its  final  passage  and  enact- 
ment into  law,  followed  closely  on  this  hearing. 


STATEMENTS   TO  COMMITTEES.  81 

CHAPTER  XIII. 


STATEMtNTS   TO   COMMITTEES. 

From  time  to  time  carefully  prepared  statements  have 
been  submitted  to  Congressional  Committees,  which  em- 
bodied facts  and  arguments  systematically  arranged. 

Such  was  the  document  presented  to  the  Senate  Com- 
mittee by  Hon.  W.  C.  Hazledine,  accompanying  the  Con- 
stitutioiTof  1890. 

Such  was  the  argument  submitted  to  the  House  Com- 
mittee, in  1902,  by  Dr.  Nathan  E.  Boyd,  relative  to  the 
value  of  Statehood  in  connection  with  the  protection  of 
material  rights  concerning  agriculture  and  irrigation. 

In  1892,  the  Statehood  question  had  become  very  promi- 
nent, and  was  occupying  much  public  attention.  To  meet 
the  demand  for  accurate  information  and  refute  oft  re- 
peated calumnies,  Gov.  Prince  was  called  upon  to  make  a 
statement  which  should  cover  all  the  points  involved.  This 
was  done  in  a  letter  to  the  Senate  Committee  on  Terri- 
tories; and  this  letter,  afterwards  embodied  in  the  Gov- 
ernor's annual  report  for  1892,  was  the  first  systematic 
document  published  on  the  subject  and  became  the  foun- 
dation of  a  host  of  articles  and  speeches  for  many  years. 
As  it  embodies,  as  briefly  as  possible,  the  whole  argument 
for  New  Mexican  Statehood,  it  is  inserted  here  in  full, 
although  some  of  the  statistics  have  been  superseded  by 
those  more  recent. 


Executive  Office, 
Santa  Fe,  June  25,  1892. 


HON.  H.  0.  PLATT, 


Chairman  Committee  on   Territories,   United    States 
Senate : 

On  June  6,  1892,  House  Bill  No.  7136,  being  "An  act 
to  enable  the  people  of  New  Mexico  to  form  a  constitution 
and  State  government,"  passed  the  House  of  Representa- 


82  STATEMENTS   TO  COMMITTEES. 

tives,  and  on  being  received  in  the  Senate  was  referred  to 
your  committee. 

This  is  a  matter  of  the  most  vital  importance  to  the 
people  of  this  Territory,  and  I  therefore  take  the  liberty 
'of  addressing  you  on  the  subject  and  submitting  some  of 
the  considerations  which  seem  to  me  to  render  a  longer 
continuance  of  territorial  government  in  Xew  Mexico  im- 
proper and  in  violation  of  the  rights  of  our  people  as 
American  citizens. 

EIGHT  OF  SELF-GO VERNMEXT. 

Self-government  is  an  inherent  right  of  American  citi- 
zenship; in  fact  it  is  inseparable  from  the  fundamental 
principles  of  republican  institutions.  The  right  to  a  rep- 
resentative voice  in  the  legislative  body  which  enacts  the 
laws  which  he  is  to  obey  and  imposes  the  taxes  which  he 
if  obliged  to  pay  is  one  dear  to  every  American.,  and  the 
right  to  take  part  in  the  selection  of  the  national  Chief 
Magistrate  and  of  the  local  governor  and  similar  officials 
i>  likewise  one  of  which  he  will  not  willingly  be  deprived. 

These  principles  of  self-government  are  so  fundamental 
in  our  institutions  that  no  citizen  should  be  deprived  of 
the  right  except  under  such  peculiar  circumstances  as  ren- 
der its  exercise  impossible  or  dangerous. 

To  apply  this  practically,  while  in  a  section  of  country 
the  people  are  so  few  or  so  poor  as  to  make  self-govern- 
ment impossible,  they  can  be  temporarily  organized  un- 
der a  territorial  government,  in  order  to  protect  life  and 
property;  but  the  moment  they  are  able  to  become  self- 
governing  they  are  entitled  to  that  right, 

Xo  circumstance  now  exists  in  relation  to  the  people  of 
New  Mexico  which  justifies  their  being  longer  deprived  of 
their  full  rights  under  a  State  government.  If  one  of  them 
moves  into  Colorado  or  into  Texas,  he  is  immediately  in- 
vested with  the  full  rights  of  American  citizenship;  if  he 
moves  back,  he  loses  them.  This  is  improper  and  absurd. 
He  is  no  more  intelligent  or  honest  or  patriotic  because 
he  has  crossed  an  imaginary  line,  nor  does  he  lose  any  srood 
qualities  when  he  recrosses  it. 


STATEMENTS  TO  COMMITTEES.  83 

Lack  of  sufficient  numbers,,  or  property,  or  intelligence 
might  cause  from  necessity  a  temporary  suspension  of  full 
civil  rights  to  the  inhabitants  of  a  district  of  country,  but 
]  will  endeavor  to  show,  briefly  but  plainly,  that  neither  of 
such  conditions  exists  in  New  Mexico  at  present. 

SPECIAL   OBLIGATIONS. 

Apart  from  the  obligation  which  the  nation  owes  to  each 
of  its  citizens  to  secure  to  him  the  right  of  self-government, 
except  where  special  exigencies  prevent,  specific  promises 
were  made  to  the  people  of  New  Mexico  at  the  time  of  its 
acquisition,  which  have  hitherto  been  disregarded.  When 
Gen.  Kearny  made  his  peaceful  entry  into  Santa  Fe,  he 
issued  a  formal  proclamation  on  August  22,  1846,  assum- 
ing the  government  of  the  entire  Territory,  and  contain- 
ing this  statement:  "It  is  the  wish  and  intention  of  the 
United  States  to  provide  for  New  Mexico  a  free  govern- 
ment, with  the  least  possible  delay,  similar  to  those  in 
the  United  States."  The  people  were  satisfied  with  the 
pacific  sentiments  of  the  American  commander,  relied  on 
the  promises  of  the  proclamation,  and  offered  no  opposi- 
tion to  the  occupation  of  the  whole  area  of  New  Mexico. 
The  treaty  of  Guadalupe  Hidalgo,  executed  February  21, 
1848,  confirmed  this  promise. 

ATTEMPTS  TO  OBTAIN  STATEHOOD. 

Kelying  on  these  pledges  and  anxious  to  possess  all  the 
rights  of  American  citizenship,  the  people,  early  in  1850, 
held  a  convention,  adopted  a  constitution,  elected  State 
officers,  a  legislature,  and  William  S.  Messervy  as  member 
of  Congress.  In  July  the  legislature  elected  E.  H.  Weight- 
man  and  F.  C.  Cunningham  as  Senators,  and  they,  with 
the  member  of  Congress,  proceeded  to  Washington.  While 
on  the  journey  they  were  met  by  the  intelligence  of  the 
passage,  on  September  9,  of  the  famous  "compromise  meas- 
ure/7 which  admitted  California  as  a  State  and  relegated 
New  Mexico  to  the  condition  of  a  territory. 

From  that  time  to  the  present,  attempts  to  secure  ad- 
mission have  constantly  been  made.  The  Territorial  legis- 


84  STATEMENTS   TO  COMMITTEES. 

lature  has  repeatedly  memorialized  Congress  on  the  sub- 
ject, the  delegates  have  introduced  enabling  acts,  and  the 
people  have  never  rested  contentedly  under  their  depriva- 
tion of  the  rights  of  citizenship.  Congress  has  not  entirely 
failed  to  respond  to  these  appeals.  Both  Houses  of  the 
Forty-third  Congress  passed  an  enabling  act,  the  House 
by  a  vote  of  160  to  54  and  the  Senate  by  32  to  11.  The 
bill  was  slightly  amended  in  the  Senate  and  failed  because 
it  was  impossible  at  the  end  of  the  session  (it  passed  the 
Senate  February  24)  to  bring  it  up  for  concurrence  in  the 
House.  If  it  was  proper  to  admit  New  Mexico  in  1874, 
before  it  possessed  a  mile  of  railroad,  a  single  public  build- 
ing, a  developed  mine,  a  matured  orchard,  or  an  alfalfa 
field,  what  reason  can  now  be  given  for  delay,  when  its 
population  has  greatly  increased,  its  condition  vastly  im- 
proved, and  its  resources  of  all  kinds  are  being  developed 
into  sources  of  wealth? 

POPULATION. 

In  this  respect  the  claim  to  statehood  is  indisputable^ 
No  Territory  at  the  time  of  its  admission,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  Dakota,  has  contained  the  population  now  in  New 
Mexico.  By  the  census  of  1890  it  had  153,076  inhabi- 
tants, without  counting  the  Indians  on  the  reservations. 
The  real  population,  as  has  been  conclusively  shown  in 
public  documents  and  is  practically  unquestioned,  was 
between  180,000  and  185,000,  the  difficulty  of  full  enum- 
eration where  the  area  is  so  vast  and  the  population  so  scat- 
tered accounting  for  the  difference.  But,  taking  the  cen- 
sus figures,  the  above  statement  as  to  other  Territories  is 
correct.  The  following  table  shows  the  date  of  the  admis- 
sion of  each  Territory,  with  its  population  according  to 
the  next  preceding  census.  Of  course,  in  some  cases,  there 
had  been  considerable  growth  between  the  census  and  the 
date  of  admission,  but  there  is  likewise  an  increase  in  New 
Mexico  since  1890. 


STATEMENTS   TO  COMMITTEES. 


85 


State. 

Date  of 
admis- 
sion. 

Popula- 
tion. 

State. 

Date  of 
admis- 
sion. 

Popula- 
tion. 

Tennessee  

1796 

35,691 

California  

1850 

92,597 

Ohio 

180* 

48  365 

1858 

6,077 

1812 

76  5n6 

Oregon      

1859 

18,294 

1816 

•>4  530 

1861 

107  206 

Mississippi  

1817 

*40,353 

Nevada  

1864 

6,857 

Illinois  

1818 

12,282 

Nebraska  

1867 

28,841 

Alabama 

1819 

(t) 

Colorado. 

1876 

89,864 

Missouri  
Arkansas  

18*1 

1836 

66,557 
30,388 

North  Dakota.  .. 
South  Dakota... 

1889 
18-9 

£328.808 
£182,919 

Michigan  

1837 

31,639 

Washington  

1889 

75,116 

Florida 

1845 

54  477 

Montana      

1889 

39,159 

Iowa  

1S46 

43,112 

Idaho  

1890 

84,385 

Wisconsin 

1848 

30  945 

Wyoming     

1890 

60705 

*  Including  Alabama. 

t  Included  with  Mississippi. 

i  By  census  of  1890.    The  population  of  both  Dakotas  in  1880  was  135,177. 

The  lesson  drawn  from  this  table  becomes  more  marked 
when  we  remember  that  in  many  of  the  Territories  men- 
tioned a  large  fraction  of  the  population  was  made  up  of 
slaves  who  were  not  citizens  and  had  no  vote,  and  further 
that  in  nearly  all  of  them  the  proportion  of  aliens  was  far 
greater  than  in  New  Mexico.  Thus,  in  Missouri  there 
were  over  10,000  slaves;  in  Florida,  over  25,000,  and  in 
Louisiana  over  34,000.  When  these  numbers  are  deducted, 
it  reduces  the  self-governing  population  quite  materially. 

So  it  is  evident  that  there  is  now  no  reason,' on  the  score 
of  lack  of  sufficient  population,  for  depriving  the  people 
of  New  Mexico  of  the  ordinary  rights  of  citizens.  On  the 
contrary  it  has  more  population  than  Idaho  and  Wyoming 
combined,  considerably  more  than  Montana,  nearly  or 
quite  four  times  as  much  as  Nevada  and  really  15,000 
more  than  Delaware. 

FINANCIAL  STRENGTH. 

The  next  question  is  whether  the  value  of  taxable  prop- 
erty is  sufficient  to  support  a  State  government.  If  not, 
that  might  be  a  valid  reason  for  longer  delay.  But  we 
find  that  the  assessed  valuation  of  property  in  1891  was 
$45,329,563.  This  is  much  larger  than  that  of  many  other 
Territories  at  the  time  of  their  admission.  The  valuation 
of  the  last  two  States,  for  example,  was  as  follows :  Idaho, 
$28,000,000;  Wyoming  $31,000,000.  The  credit  of  New 


86  STATEMENTS   TO   COMMITTEES. 

Mexico  is  excellent,  notwithstanding  the  prejudice  against 
Territorial  securities  in  the  financial  centers.  The  only 
bonds  issued  during  the  last  four  years  were  $25,000  for 
the  completion  of  the  insane  asylum,  and  although  there 
was  some  question  as  to  their  being  in  excess  of  the  limit 
established  by  Congress,  yet  they  sold  for  105  %.  Since 
July,  1889,  the  Territory  has  been  gradually  redeeming 
and  canceling  its  outstanding  penitentiary  bonds,  to  an 
amount  between  $40,000  and  $50,000.  These  were  bought 
at  the  lowest  offers,  after  thorough  advertising,  and  yet  we 
have  been  compelled  to  pay  from  107  to  117  per  cent  for 
them. 

BESOUECES. 

The  resources  of  the  Territory,  as  the  foundation  of  its 
ability  to  sustain  its  own  government  permanently,  are 
properly  a  matter  for  inquiry.  And  on  this  subject  we 
may  make  the  broad  assertion  that  New  Mexico  is  endowed 
with  greater  natural  resources,  and  in  greater  variety, 
than  any  other  State  or  Territory  of  the  Union.  This  prob- 
ably sounds  extravagant,  and  may  be  considered  as  a  speci- 
men of  western  hyperbole,  but  while  it  is  a  bold  statement, 
it  is  made  with  an  entire  appreciation  of  its  full  signifi- 
cance, and  is  well  considered  and  deliberate.  Only  one 
approaches  it,  and  that  is  California;  and  the  possession 
of  almost  limitless  beds  of  coal,  both  bituminous  and  an- 
thracite, give  New  Mexico  a  superiority  even  over  that 
favored  State. 

PUBLIC  PEOPEETY. 

No  Territory  has  ever  erected  so  many  public  buildings, 
or  possessed  so  much  public  property  as  New  Mexico.  With- 
out the  slightest  aid  from  the  National  Government,  it 
has  built  a  most  beautiful  capitol,  a  substantial  peniten- 
tiary, and  more  recently  an  insane  asylum,  university, 
agricultural  college  and  school  of  mines.  All  these  latter 
structures  are  more  than  creditable,  they  are  sources  of 
pride  and  gratification;  and  they  are  paid  for  from  taxa- 
tion without  the  incurring  of  any  indebtedness,  except  the 
sum  of  $25,000  to  complete  the  insane  asylum.  In  nearly 


STATEMENTS   TO  COMMITTEES.  87 

every  western  State  the  institutions  of  a  similar  charac- 
ter have  been  erected  wholly  or  in  part  by  grants  of  land 
made  at  the  time  of  their  admission,  but  New  Mexico  has 
not  waited  for  such  assistance.  In  addition  to  the  above, 
more  than  half  of  our  counties  have  erected  commodious 
and  elegant  court  houses  of  stone  or  brick  within  the  past 
ten  years. 

It  seems1  strange  that  with  all  these  facts  in  her  favor, 
New  Mexico  should  have  been  so  long  deprived  of  state- 
hood. It  would  be  foolish  to  ignore  the  fact  that  there 
has  existed  in  the  eastern  mind  a  prejudice  against  her  on 
account  of  the  supposed 

CHARACTER  OF  THE  POPULATION. 

By  many  the  people  are  looked  upon  as  foreign  and  not 
in  harmony  with  American  institutions.  It  is  strange  that 
this  objection  should  arise  in  a.  land  which  absorbs  half  a 
million  of  foreigners  every  year,  and  which  manages  to 
assimilate  the  very  worst  elements  of  continental  Europe. 
It  should  be  remembered  that  New  Mexico  was  acquired 
in  1846,  that  all  of  its  inhabitants  except  the  oldest  were 
born  on  American  soil,  and  that  its  people  belonged  to  a 
sister  republic  with  institutions  similar  to  ours,  and  so 
needed  no  new  education  in  free  government.  For  almost 
half  a  century  they  have  been  electing  their  legislatures, 
making  their  laws,  and  carrying  on  their  local  government 
under  the  American  system. 

The  people  have  shown  themselves  as  loyal  as  any  in 
the  nation.  During  the  rebellion  out  of  her  total  popula- 
tion of  93,567  she  sent  6,561  into  the  army.  Her  volun- 
teers fought  at  Valverde,  Peralta  and  on  other  fields;  and 
at  Glorieta,  together  with  their  comrades  of  Colorado,  de- 
feated the  enemy  and  turned  back  the  column  which  was 
advancing  northerly  from  Texas  with  the  intention  of  cut- 
ting off  the  Pacific  Slope  from  the  remainder  of  the  coun- 
try. The  value  of  that  service  to  the  Union  cause  can 
scarcely  be  overestimated.  The  total  number  of  volunteers 
from  the  Territories  now  composing  the  six  new  States  of 
North  Dakota,  South  Dakota,  Washington,  Montana, 


88  STATEMENTS   TO   COMMITTEES. 

Idaho,,  and  Aborning  was  1,170.  Colorado  sent  but  4,903, 
and  Nebraska,  Oregon  and  Nevada,  taken  together,  did  not 
contribute  but  6,047,  being  500  less  than  New  Mexico 
alone. 

If  we  look  at  the  foreign  element  in  the  population  we 
will  find  it  smaller  in  New  Mexico  than  anywhere  in  the 
country  except  in  certain  Southern  States.  A  comparison 
with  Territories  recently  admitted  is  instructive  in  this  re- 
gard. The  figures  are  those  of  the  census  of  1880,  which 
are  the  latest  on  this  point. 

New  Mexico  contained  7,219  foreign-born  inhabitants 
to  100,000  native-born,  or  7  to  100. 

Washington  had  26  foreign  to  100  native. 

Wyoming  had  39  foreign  to  100  native. 

Montana  had  41  foreign  to  100  native. 

Idaho  had  44  foreign  to  100  native. 

Dakota  had  62  foreign  to  100  native. 

Even  in  the  older  States,  New  York  and  Michigan  had 
31  to  100;  Massachusetts,  33;  Ehode  Island,  36;  Wiscon- 
sin, 44;  California,  51,  and  Minnesota,  52.  So  that  New 
Mexico  looms  up  as  a  specially  native  American  commun- 
ity. 

But  to  the  uninformed  the  large  number  of  voters  of 
Spanish  descent  is  looked  upon  as  a  grave  misfortune. 
There  could  not  be  a  greater  mistake.  It  is  the  possession 
of  that  conservative  element  in  connection  with  the  ener- 
getic and  enterprising  American  from  the  east  which  gives 
New  Mexico  her  special  advantages  as  a  self-governing 
community  over  most  other  Territories.  Every  one  fami- 
liar with  the  far  west  knows  that  the  principal  danger  in 
new  communities  arises  from  the  unsettled  and  irrespon- 
sible character  of  much  of  the  population. 

The  chief  danger  in  a  new  community  comes  from  this 
class  of  men  and  from  the  overenthusiasm  of  others  who 
think  that  life  in  the  new  west  is  a  continual  boom,  and 
many  a  State  and  Territory  has  suffered  from  it.  'But  Xew 
Mexico  runs  no  such  risk.  She  has  a  solid,  stable,  respon- 
sible, and  conservative  element  in  her  native  population, 
which  counteracts  the  danger.  They  are  attached  to  the 


STATEMENTS   TO   COMMITTEES.  89 

soil  and  have  no  thought  of  leaving.  They  are  identified 
with  the  country,  and  naturally  opposed  to  rash  schemes 
which  involve  extravagant  expense  and  debt.  By  them- 
selves they  might  be  too  slow  and  nonprogressive,  but  mix- 
ed with  the  over-zealous  American.,  they  form  an  admirable 
combination. 

Another  objection  which  has  been  urged  against  us  is 
that  of 

ILLITERACY. 

Some  years  ago  there  may  have  been  some  force  in  this 
argument,  but  it  is  fast  disappearing.  In  no  respect  has 
New  Mexico  been  making  such  rapid  progress  as  in  public 
education.  Even  under  the  crude  system  which  existed 
before  the  public  school  law  of  189 1,  the  number  of  chil- 
dren under  instruction  had  increased  in  a  ratio  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  population.  The  late  census  developed  the 
fact  that  while  the  population  of  the  Territory  increased 
28  per  cent  during  the  decade  from  1880  to  1890,  the  num- 
ber of  children  enrolled  in  the  schools  increased  283  per 
cent  or  ten  times  as  rapidly.  The  crowning  work  of  the 
last  legislature  was  that  relative  to  public  education.  Un- 
der its  beneficent  provisions  the  educational  system  is  im- 
proving with  great  rapidity. 

It  should  be  remembered  that  all  this  has  to  be  done  by 
direct  taxation,  as  we  have  no  school  fund  whatever.  We 
can  not  have  any  until  we  are  admitted  as  a  State.  Should 
you  deprive  all  of  the  States  of  their  school  funds  a  la- 
mentable condition  of  affairs  would  result  in  many  of 
them.  With  statehood  come  the  grants  of  land  from  the 
public  domain  for  educational  purposes.  Being  a  Territory 
we  have  no  grants  and  no  fund.  It  is  not  our  fault,  for 
we  have  been  asking  for  these  for  years.  If  there  is  any 
fault  about  it,  it  is  that  of  Congress,  which  has  deprived 
us  of  this  among  many  other  rights  that  come  with  state- 
hood. If  the  educational  matter  is  to  be  weighed  .against 
us,  it  should  be  weighed  in  the  direction  of  giving  us 
Statehood,  which  will  increase  our  means  for  public  edu- 
cation rather  than  in  depriving  us  of  it. 


90  STATEMENTS   TO   COMMITTEES 

CONCLUSION. 

In  every  respect  in  which  she  can  control  her  own  des- 
tiny, New  Mexico  is  improving  and  advancing.  Her  pop- 
ulation and  wealth  are  increasing.  Eailroads  are  reaching 
every  section.  The  products  of  agriculture  and  horticul- 
ture, of  the  sheep  range  and  the  mines,  are  all  enlarged. 
Great  systems  of  modern  irrigation  are  multiplying  her 
fruitful  acreage.  The  incubus  of  the  past,  the  uncer- 
tainty of  land  titles,  is  being  removed  by  the  new  land 
court.  Wholesome  and  beneficent  legislation  is  adding  to 
the  general  prosperity. 

Thus  in  every  way  the  tendency  is  upward  and  onward. 
The  sole  obstacle  to  rapid  advancement  is  the  continued 
Territorial  condition.  It  is  impossible  to  obtain  money 
for  needed  development  in  a  Territory.  Eastern  capital- 
ists will  not  loan  or  invest,  as  they  have  an  idea  that  there 
is  no  stability  of  government  or  security  for  property  with- 
out Statehood.  To  a  certain  extent  immigration  is  also 
retarded.  It  is  apt  to  be  thought  that  a  Territory  is  back- 
ward and  nonprogressive.  The  admission  of  New  Mexico 
into  the  Union  will  give  a  great  impetus  to  its  prosperity. 
Population  will  flow  in  with  rapidity.  The  capital  wanted 
for  the  development  of  our  resources  will  be  easily  obtained. 
Rates  of  interest  will  be  lowered.  We  will  be  relieved  from 
certain  Congressional  statutes  which  now  impede  our 
progress.  The  people  will  feel  that  they  are  really  Ameri- 
can citizens,  and  not  aliens  or  servants.  All  this  will  en- 
kindle ambition,  invigorate  our  energies,  stimulate  enter- 
prise, and  lead  us  on  to  a  glorious  future. 

L.  BRADFORD  PRINCE, 
Governor  of  New  Mexico. 


CONGRESSIONAI — 1895   TO   1901.  91 

CHAPTER  XIV. 


CONGRESSIONAL— 1895  TO  1901. 

In  the  54th  Congress  Mr.  Joseph  was  succeeded  by  Hon. 
Thomas  B.  Catron.  Mr.  Catron  had  always  been  an 
active  frined  of  Statehood  and  he  lost  no  time  in  introduc- 
ing an  Enabling  Act  in  the  usual  form.  This  was  on 
December  6th,  1895,  and  the  bill  was  designated  "House 
Bill  219."  On  account  of  some  clerical  errors,  the  bill 
was  re-introduced  on  December  9th,  with  the  necessary  cor- 
rections. The  material  changes  from  the  more  recent 
Joseph  bills,  were  in  an  increase  in  the  number  of  dele- 
gates to  the  Constitutional  Convention  to  81,  the  appor- 
tionment being  made  in  the  bill;  greater  liberality  as  to 
donations  of  land  for  public  use;  and  a  provision  granting 
the  "Palace"  in  Santa  Fe,  with  all  appurtenant  lands,  to 
the  new  State. 

Mr.  Catron  devoted  his  characteristic  energy  to  the  pass- 
age of  the  bill,  but  was  met  by  the  usual  delays  and  the 
opposition  of  eastern  influences',  which  at  that  time,  owing 
to  the  antagonism  between  the  supporters  of  a  single  gold 
standard  and  the  advocates  of  bimetalism,  were  strongly 
averse  to  the  creation  of  more  western  States. 

The  history  of  the  struggle  during  the  last  fifteen  years 
is  wit!  in  the  memory  of  most  of  those  interested  in  the 
subject,  and  presents  a  succession  of  attempts,  regularly 
begun  at  the  opening  of  each  new  Congress,  carried  on  with 
more  or  less  vigor,  with  apparent  excellent  prospects  of 
success,  usually  resulting  in  the  passage  of  the  bill  by  the 
House  of  Representatives  and  its  reference  in  the  Senate 
to  the  Committee  on  Territories.  Sometimes  there  would 
be  public  hearings  by  the  committee  of  the  Senate  or  the 
House;  usually  the  delegate  would  make  at  least  one 
speech  on  the  floor  of  the  House,  begging  for  tardy  justice 
to  his  people;  occasionally  there  would  be  a  few  other 
speeches,  more  than  likely  in  opposition,  and  full  of  un- 
complimentary remarks  on  the  Territory  and  its  people. 
From  time  to  time,  the  people  of  the  Territory  would  be 


92  CONGRESSIONAL — 1895   TO   1901. 

told  that  a  demonstration  in  the  form  of  a  Statehood  Con- 
vention, or  the  passage  of  strong  resolutions,  would  be  of 
benefit,  by  showing  public  opinion;  or  that  a  committee 
coming  to  Washington  would  do  good;  and  they  would 
hasten  to  carry  out  the  suggested  programme  as  far  as 
possible. 

Any  one  consulting  the  files  of  territorial  journals  for 
almost  any  year  since  1890,,  will  be  surprised  to  observe 
the  similarity,,  year  after  year,  in  the  reports  from  Wash- 
ington, and  in  the  general  tone  of  articles  on  the  subject. 
Statehood  has  constantly  been  on  the  eve  of  being  realized. 
If  it  was  not  obtained  that  year,  it  could  not  fail  to  come 
within  the  next  year,  or  within  two  years  at  the  farthest. 
Occasionally  there  would  be  some  episode  which  would  add 
to  the  general  interest,  and  for  the  time  bring  the  Terri- 
tory into  the  limelight  of  national  publicity.  So  it  was 
when  Senator  Beveridge  began  his  crusade  against  admis- 
sion to  Statehood.  So  it  was  when  Senator  Quay  became 
its  champion  and  with  all  the  power  of  his  great  State 
and  the  force  and  persistence  of  his  character  almost 
achieved  a  victory. 

We  will  not  attempt,  then,  to  cover  this  period  in  min- 
ute detail.  It  will  be  understood  that  each  delegate  in 
turn  introduced  an  Enabling  Act,  perhaps  a  half  dozen 
in  different  forms,  and  used  his  best  endeavors  for  suc- 
cess; and  that  somewhere,  at  some  stage  of  the  procedure, 
either  in  the  House  or  in  the  Senate,  either  in  committee 
or  on  the  floor,  a  snag  was  encountered,  and  the  bill  died 
at  the  end  of  the  session  because  it  could  not  overcome 
the  obstacle  in  time.  During  all  this  long  period  the  bill 
has  never  been  beaten  on  a  vote,  there  has  never  been  a 
majority  in  either  House  of  Congress  willing  to  be  recorded 
a?  opposed  to  self  government  for  American  citizens;  but 
it  has  been  killed,  or  rather  allowed  to  die,  by  indirection. 

The  reports  made  against  Statehood,  whether  by  a  ma- 
jority or  a  minority,  have  usually  been  made  up  of  ex- 
cuses rather  than  arguments,  and  have  indulged  in  cruel 
misrepresentations  in  order  to  arouse  prejudice.  The 
famous  Beveridge  report  is  perhaps  an  exception  to  this 


CONGRESSIONAL— 1895   TO   1901.  9£ 

rule,  for,  while  it  is  most  unjust  in  many  of  its  statements 
and  conclusions.,  yet  it  is  actually  based  on  a  theory  as  to* 
the  admission  of  new  States  which  is  clearly  and  frankly- 
stated.  That  theory  is  given  a  hearing  elsewhere  in  this 
volume,  with  the  antagonistic  theory  of  the  right  of  self- 
government. 

The  friends  of  Statehood  have  never  been  afraid  of  a 
fair  argument,  but  they  have  feared  the  unjust  and  un- 
founded sentiment,  never  openly  expressed  but  no  less 
real,  which  has  permeated  nearly  the  whole  eastern  mind., 
against  giving  more  power  to  the  west.  It  was  that  under- 
lying feeling  which  for  a  generation  has  kept  New  Mexico 
out  of  the  Union,  and  which  has  been  stronger  than  ever 
since  the  newly  admitted  States  of  the  northwest  have 
shown  remarkable  political  independence.  The  opinion  has 
been  freely  expressed  on  many  occasions  within  the  last- 
ten  or  twelve  years,  that  it  was  a  great  mistake  to  admit 
Idaho,  Montana,  Wyoming  and  Utah,  and  that  if  the  ques- 
tion of  their  admission  was  to  arise  now  instead  of  when 
it  did,  they  would  not  be  admitted;  and  that  any  further 
similar  mistake  must  be  avoided.  Articles  in  eastern 
journals,  even  since  the  passage  of  the  Statehood  bill  for 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona  in  June,  1910,  have  expressed 
the  same  feeling,  and  thus  show  that  the  final  passage  of 
the  Act  was  rather  the  result  of  a  fortunate  accident  than 
the  real  intention  of  the  representatives  of  the  east. 

The  existence  of  this  feeling,  strong  yet  unexpressed,  ef- 
fective though  never  apparent,  must  be  constantly  borne 
in  mind,  in  order  to  understand  the  regular  failure,  year 
after  year,,  of  the  attempts  for  Statehood,  when  everything 
on  the  surface  appeared  favorable. 

Mr.  Catron  was  succeeded  as  delegate  by  Hon.  H.  B. 
Fergusson  in  the  55th  Congress,  and  he,  by  Hon.  Pedro 
Perea  in  the  56th.  The  usual  bills  for  the  admission  of 
the  three'  remaining  Territories  were  promptly  introduced, 
and  urged  by  their  respective  delegates  with  vigor. 

Mr.  Fergusson  made  a  strong  plea  before  the  Committee 
on  Territories  of  the  House,  for  New  Mexico;  and  in  ad- 
dition to  the  usual  arguments  made  a  special  point  regard- 


94  CONGRESSIONAL — 1895  TO   1901. 

ing  the  public  lands,  the  immediate  necessities  of  the  pub- 
lic schools  and  other  educational  institutions.,  and  the  dan- 
ger that  by  protracted  delay  all  the  best  of  the  lands  would 
be  taken  up  by  private  individuals  and  lost  to  the  new 
State. 

As  usual,,  the  bill  failed  to  become  a  law,  but  Congress 
was  sufficiently  impressed  by  the  argument  as  to  the  pub- 
lic lands  to  pass  an  Act  giving  the  Territory  a  considerable 
proportion  of  the  areas  usually  appropriated  to  new  States 
for  the  immediate  use  of  the  territorial  institutions,  before 
admission. 

Mr.  Perea's  term  presented  nothing  noticeably  different 
from  that  which  had  become  the  ordinary  routine  of  en- 
deavor and  eifort  and  failure.  Like  his  predecessors,  he 
was  an  earnest  friend  of  Statehood ;  but  the  dominant  feel- 
ing of  Congress  was  as  above  described,  and  controlled  in 
the  result. 

This  brings  us  to  1901  and  the  beginning  of  the  last 
decade  of  the  long  struggle.  But  before  taking  up  that 
period  in  its  order,  the  action  of  the  Beveridge  committee 
and  movements  in  the  Territory  itself,  require  attention. 


THE   BEVEREDGE   COMMITTEE.  95 

CHAPTEE  XV. 

THE  BEVERIDGE  COMMITTEE. 

Pursuant  to  Senate  Resolution  No.  282,  adopted  June 
27,  1902,  a  sub- committee  of  the  Committee  on  Territories 
of  the  Senate  assembled  at  Chicago  on  November  10,  1902, 
and  proceeded  to  New  Mexico,  Arizona,  Oklahoma,  and  the 
Indian  Territory  for  the  purpose  of  investigating  condi- 
tions relative  to  the  admission  of  those  Territories  to 
Statehood.  The  sub-committee  was  composed  of  Senator 
Beveridge  (chairman),  Senator  Dillingham,  Senator  Burn- 
ham  and  Senator  Heitfeld;  Senator  Heitfeld  joining  the 
party  en  route  before  reaching  New  Mexico. 

This  committee  held  sessions  in  this  Territory  at  Las 
Vegas,  Santa  Fe,  Albuquerque,  Las  Cruces  and  Carlsbad, 
commencing  on  Wednesday,  November  12th,  and  ending 
on  November  21st.  This  investigation  was  not  in  the 
form  usual  in  hearings  before  committees  in  Washington, 
where  voluntary  statements  are  received  from  those  in  at- 
tendance, but  was  rather  in  the  form  of  a  legal  proceeding 
in  which  witnesses  were  called  and  sworn  and  then  testi- 
fied in  answer  to  questions  from  the  members  of  the  "com- 
mittee. A  large  number  of  witnesses  were  thus  examined 
on  particular  points  as  to  which  the  committee  desired  to 
obtain  information,  and  the  witnesses  themselves  were 
selected  and  summoned  by  the  committee  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  very  few  who  were  produced  at  the  request  of 
Delegate  Rodey. 

•The  following  is  a  list  of  the  witnesses  who  were  ex- 
amined during  the  investigation: 
At  Las  Vegas — 

Judge  Wm.  J.  Mills,  Chief  Justice. 

Nepomuceno  Segura,  Court  Interpreter. 

Wm.  E.  Gortner,  Court  Stenographer. 

Secundino  Romero,.  District  Court  Clerk. 

Miss  Georgia  Murray,  teacher. 

Miss  Francisca  Zana,  teacher. 

Enrique  Armijo,  teacher. 


THE   BEVERIDGE  COMMITTEE. 

Enrique  H.  Salazar,  editor  "El  Independiente." 
Jesus  Maria  Tafoya,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
Pablo  Ulibarri,  Census  Enumerator. 
Timoteo  Sena,  Census  Enumerator. 
Jose  Lino  Rivera,  Census  Enumerator. 
H.  S.  Wooster,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 
Eugenio  Rudolph,  Census  Enumerator. 
Pablo  Jaramillo,  Census  Enumerator. 

F.  0.  Blood,  Postmaster. 

Rafael  Gallegos,  Census  Enumerator. 

Miss  Maggie  J.  Bucher,  Superintendent  City  Schools. 

Felipe  Baca  3*  Garcia,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Cleofes  Romero,  Sheriff. 
At  Santa  Fe— 

J.  Francisco  Chaves,  Supt.  of  Public  Instruction. 

Judge  John  R.  McFie,  Judge  Supreme  Court. 

Miss  Barbara  Perea  Yrisarri,  Census  Enumeratoi. 

Jose  D.  Sena,  Court  Interpreter. 

Facundo  Ortiz,  Census  Enumerator. 

Clemen te  P.  Ortiz,  Census  Enumerator. 

Ambrosio  Ortiz,  Census  Enumerator. 

Joseph  P.  Conklin,  Census  Enumerator. 

James  D.  Hughes,  Publisher. 

Francisco  Anaya,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

A.  M.  Bergere,  District  Court  Clerk. 

Chas.  M.  Conklin,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Jose  Maria  Garcia,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Camilo  Padilla,  Census  Enumerator. 

Juvencio  Quintana,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Leonardo  Duran,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Paul  A.  F.  Walter, 'Postmaster. 

Pedro  Sanchez,  Census  Enumerator. 
At  Albuquerque — 

Judge  Benj.  S.  Baker,  Supreme  Court  Judge. 

Nestor  Montoya,   Court  Interpreter. 

G.  W.  Metzger,  Census  Enumerator. 
Seferino  Crollott,  Census  Enumerator. 
Modesto  C.  Ortiz,  Census  Enumerator. 
Eslavio  Vigil,  Census  Enumerator. 


THE  BEVERIDGE  COMMITTEE.  97 

Wm.  Borchert,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

A.  J.  Crawford,  Police  Judge. 

Wm.  J.  Oliver,  Indian  School. 

C.  F.  Myers,  Mayor. 

Thos.  Hughes,  Editor  "Citizen." 

Wm.  B.  Childers,  U.  S.  Attorney. 

C.  M.  Foraker,  U.  S.  Marshal. 

Abran  Abeytia,  County  Treasurer. 

James  A.  Summers,  Probate  Clerk. 

W.  E.  Dame,  Court  Clerk. 

Anastacio  C.  Torres,  School  Superintendent. 

H.  G.  Baca,  Probate  Clerk. 

A.  A.  Sedillo,  Court  Interpreter. 

Chas.  P.  Newhall,  Tax  Collector. 

Prof.  WTm.  G^eo.  Tight,  President,  University. 

Chas.  E.  Hodgin,  Professor,  University. 

Atanacio  Montoya,  Teacher. 

Hon.  B.  S.  Eodey,  Delegate  in  Congress, 

0.  N".  Marron,  Mayor. 

Willard  S.  Hopewell,  Cattle,  Mines  and  Eailroad. 

M.  E.  Hickey,  School  Superintendent. 
At  Las  Cruces — 

Judge  Frank  W.  Parker,  Supreme  Court  Judge. 

Manuel  Lopez,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 

Jose  Gonzales,  Editor  "Labrador." 

Samuel  A.  Steele,  Census  Enumerator. 

Eugene  Van  Patten,  Census  Enumerator. 

Isidor  Armijo,  Probate  Clerk. 

F.  D.  Hunt,  Editor  "Progress." 

Marcel  Valdez,  Editor  "Tiempo." 

Francis  E.  Lester,  College  Kegistrar. 

Allen  J.  Papen,  Editor  "Kepublican." 

Elias  E.  Day,  School  Superintendent. 

Martin  Amador,  Farmer. 

John  J.  Vernon,  College  Professor. 

Martin  Lohman,  Merchant. 
At  El  Paso— 

Judge  Daniel  H.  McMillan,  District  Court  Judge. 
At  Carlsbad- 
Francis  Tracy,  Irrigation  Superintendent. 


98  THE   BEVERIDGE  COMMITTEE. 

L.  0.  Fullen,  Editor  "Argus." 
James  0.  Cameron,  Attorney. 
Wm.  C.  Keiff,  Census  Enumerator. 
R.  W.  Tansill,  Retired  Manufacturer. 

The  arrival  of  the  members  of  the  committee,  without 
notice,  at  the  various  points  where  it  held  sessions;  their 
method  of  procedure,  which  was  with  closed  doors,  one 
witness  being  admitted  at  a  time;  the  fact  that  they  came 
provided  with  lists  of  the  witnesses  whom  they  desired, 
and  did  not  hear  others,  and  that  they  avoided  calling 
many  of  the  most  intelligent  and  well-informed  citizens 
who  were  close  at  hand;  that  their  investigation  was  not 
as  to  the  resources  and  industries  of  the  ^Territory,  or  its 
financial  condition  and  ability  to  bear  the  expense  of  State- 
hood; and  that  their  inquiries,  so  far  as  they  became 
known,  were  nearly  all  as  to  the  use  of  Spanish  in  the 
courts,  in  the  schools,  in  the  houses  and  the  streets;  all 
these  things  aroused  a  strong  feeling  against  the  committee 
and  its  chairman. 

The  character  of  the  report  based  on  this  testimony  was 
such  as  to  increase  the  vexation  and  indignation  of  the 
people.  It  was  believed  that  an  adverse  report  had  been 
agreed  on  long  before  the  committee  visited  Xew  Mexico, 
and  that  the  testimony  was  taken  simply  to  justify  such 
;i  report.  It  was  felt  that  the  worst  side  of  every  scene, 
and  worst  construction  of  every  statement  of  the  witnesses, 
was  that  which  was  presented  and  emphasized.  For  a  con- 
siderable time  Senator  Beveridge  was  the  most  cordially 
disliked  man  in  Xew  Mexico.  The  newspapers  were  filled 
with  articles  censuring  his  course,  and  every  public  speech 
was  full  of  denunciation. 

Even  the  rhymesters  made  him  the  target  of  their 
humor,  as  these  verses,  the  first  and  last  of  a  long  "Plea 
for  Statehood,"  dated  December  8th,  1902,  will  prove: 

"Oh,  Bevy,  In  the  name  of  God, 
Withhold,  withhold,  thy  chastening  rod. 
We  implore  this  on  our  bended  knees, 
Give  us  Statehood,  Please  do  !  please ! ! 


THE   BEVERIDGE  COMMITTEE.  99 

If  you'd  lie  down  to  pleasant  dreams, 
Not  disturbed  by  our  eagle's  screams, 
Then  let  us  into  the  Union,  pray ! 
At  least,  dear  boy,  get  out  of  the  way." 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  at  that  time  he  was  strongly 
prejudiced  against  the  Territory  and  its  people,  and  was 
determined  that  it  should  not  be  admitted  as  a  State. 

The  report  was  presented  in  the  Senate  on  December 
10th,  1902,  and  ortered  printed,  with  the  accompanying 
exhibits  and  testimony.  (Senate  Eeport  No.  2206,  57th 
Congress,  2nd  Session;  and  Document  36). 

It  was  very  carefully  drawn,  with  an  evident  desire  to 
appear  fair,  but  it  approached  the  subject  from  a  thor- 
oughly eastern  point  of  view^  and  the  following  extracts 
wdll  show  that  it  presented  the  worst  phases  of  the  situa- 
tion which  the  testimony  taken  made  possible. 

"The  great  majority  of  the  New  Mexican  population 
are  native  New  Mexicans,  of  Spanish  and  mixed  Spanish 
•and  Indian  descent,  and  of  these  all  speak  Spanish  in  the 
affairs  of  daily  life  and  the  majority  speak  nothing  but 
Spanish."  (p.  5.) 

"Courts  are  conducted  through  the  medium  of  an  in- 
terpreter, and  it  is  impossible  to  conduct  the  machinery 
of  justice  without  this  official."  (p.  5.) 

"Coming  to  the  justices  of  the  peace — practically  all  of 
them  speak  Spanish  and  the  proceedings  of  their  courts 
are  conducted  in  Spanish.  The  dockets  of  nearly  all  jus- 
tices of  the  peace  are  kept  almost  exclusively  in  Spanish." 

(p.  6.) 

"Until  recently  (historically  speaking)  no  English  was 
taught  in  the  public  schools.  At  present  both  Spanish 
and  English  are  taught  in  the  most  of  the  schools."  (p.  6.) 

"In  some  schools  Spanish  is  taught  exclusively;  and  his- 
tory, arithmetic  and  geography  are  translated  from  Ameri- 
can texts  into  Spanish."  (p.  6.) 

"In  the  little  country  settlements  the  people  are  usually 
bunched  together,  their  occupation  being  principally  that 
of  herding  sheep  or  goats,  and  with  little  or  practically  no 
communication  with  the  outside  world."  (p.  7.) 


100  THE   BEVERIDGE   COMMITTEE. 

"A  portion  of  the  population,  even  including  some  jus- 
tices of  the  peace,  have  little  understanding  of  our  insti- 
tutions." (p.  7.) 

"Of  the  entire  population  of  Xew  Mexico  thirty-three 
and  two-tenths  per  cent,  are  illiterate;  that  is,  that  portion 
can  neither  read  nor  write  Spanish,  English,  or  any  other 
language.  If  the  test  of  illiteracy  were  confined  to  the 
English  language  only,  the  committee  is  of  opinion  that 
the  percentage  of  illiterates  would  be  much  more  than 
doubled."  (p.  7.) 

"Even  members  of  grand  and  pettit  juries  sometimes 
sign  their  names  by  their  mark,  and  the  testimony  shows 
an  instance  where  nineteen  out  of  twenty-one  jurors  signed 
by  their  mark,  and  another  instance  of  twenty-one  out  of 
twenty-four  who  signed  by  their  mark."  (p.  8.) 

"As  to  educational  progress,  and  especially  advance  in 
the  speaking  of  English,  the  committee,  after  having  made 
every  possible  allowance,  are  of  the  opinion  that  the  very 
most  that  can  be  said  is  that  Xew  Mexico  is  beginning 
to  get  a  fair  start,  and  no  more."  (p.  8.) 

"Aside  from  the  large  towns,  practically  all  development 
is  Mexican.  The  Mexican  population  universally  live  in 
adobe  or  mud  houses,  just  as  they  did  a  hundred  years 
ago.  Even  in  the  Capital  City  of  Santa  Fe  practically  all 
the  residences  and  most  of  the  schools  are  in  these  earth 
structures."  (p.  9.) 

"On  the  whole,  the  committee  feel  that  in  the  courso 
of  time,  when  education,  now  only  practically  beginning, 
shall  have  accomplished  its  work;  when  the  mass  of  the 
people,  or  even  a  majority  of  them  shall,  in  the  usages  and 
employment  of  their  daily  life,  have  become  identical  in 
language  and  customs  with  the  great  body  of  the  Ameri- 
can people;  when  the  immigration  of  English  speaking 
people  who  have  been  citizens  of  other  States  does  its  modi- 
fying work  with  the  Mexican  element;  when  all  these 
things  have  come  to  pass,  the  committee  hopes  and  believes 
that  this  mass  of  people,  unlike  us  in  race,  language  and 
social  customs,  will  finally  come  to  form  a  creditable  por- 
tion of  American  citizenship."  (p.  9.) 


THE   BEVERIDGE   COMMITTEE.  101 

''Many  of  the  people  of  New  Mexico  do  not  want  State- 
hood. The  testimony  of  Martin  Amador,  a  Mexican  farm- 
er, proves  this.  The  committee  is  further  convinced  that 
this  opposition  to  Statehood  for  New  Mexico  is  by  no  means 
confined  to  this  simple  Mexican  farmer  (Martin  Amador) 
and  the  great  class  for  whom  he  spoke.  It  is  true  that  no 
other  rancher.,  farmer,  or  merchant  appeared  before  the 
committee  to  the  same  effect;  but  the  committee  has  sound 
reasons  for  believing  that  large  numbers  of  them  are  earn- 
estly against  the  proposition  of  New  Mexico  Statehood." 

(p.  29.) 

While  the  statements  appearing  in  these  extracts  may 
not  be  literally  untrue,  yet  they  represent  extreme  and  ex- 
ceptional cases  which  give  an  entirely  false  idea  of  the 
average  condition  of  affairs,  and  are  essentially  misleading 
as  representing  the  Territory  and  people  at  large. 

The  underlying  fallacy  in  the  argument  of  the  report 
is  that  it  entirely  ignores  the  fundamental  right  of  the 
American  citizen  to  self-government,  when  such  govern- 
ment is  possible ;  and,  in  direct  contradiction  to  facts,  it 
asserts  that  there  is  no  real  deprivation  of  self  govern- 
ment but  that  it  exis'ts  practically  as  in  the  States. 

As  the  Beveridge  report  presents  this  subject  in  clear-cut 
form,  in  direct  antagonism  to  the  view  held  by  the  people 
of  New  Mexico,  and  has  been  as  distinctly  answered  on 
behalf  of  the*  Territory  before  another  Committee  of  Con- 
gress, it  may  be  well  to  present  the  two  sides  of  the  argu- 
ment in  a  separate  chapter,  as  this  is  really  the  crucial 
question  in  controversy  between  the  advocates  of  Statehood 
and  its  opponents  in  'Congress. 


102  THE   RIGHT    TO   SELF   GOVERNMENT. 

CHAPTER  XVI. 


THE  EIGHT   TO   SELF  GOVERNMENT. 

It  is  not  proposed  to  interrupt  the  course  of  this  narra- 
tive of  the  Struggle  for  Statehood  by  a  chapter  of  newly 
written  arguments;  but  simply  to  show  by  a  few  extracts 
what  has  been  the  real  essential  issue  between  the  advo- 
cates of  Statehood  and  its  opponents,  as  presented  to  Con- 
gress. 

THE   ARGUMENT   AGAINST    STATEHOOD. 

Senator  Beveridge,  in  his  celebrated  report,  in  1902, 
formulated  the  argument  against  Statehood  in  the  most 
logical  shape  in  which  it  has  been  stated. 

He  enumerated  the  necessary  qualifications  of  a  com- 
munity for  Statehood  as  follows: 

QUALIFICATIONS. 

The  people  must  be  sufficient  in  number;  they  must  be 
on  an  equality  with  the  remainder  of  the  people  of  the 
nation  in  all  that  constitutes  effective  citizenship;  they 
must  have  devdloped  the  resources  of  the  laud  they  occupy 
and  have  further  resources  susceptible  of  like  development, 
to  bring  their  proposed  new  State  up  to  the  average  of 
the  remainder  of  the  Nation.  (p.  2.) 

RULE  AS  TO  POPULATION. 

It  would  have  been  well  and  would  now  be  well  if  the 
rule  could  be  adopted  that  any  new  State  should  have  a 
population  equal  to  the  average  population  of  the  remain- 
der of  the  States.  This  rule  would  require  a  population 
for  any  proposed  new  State,  at  the  present  time,  of  1,650,- 
000."  (p.  4.) 

OTHER  QUALIFICATIONS. 

"But  not  only  are  numbers  of  people  requisite.  The 
advancement  of  that  people,  their  state  of  life,  their  famil- 
iarity and  sympathy  with  our  institutions,  their  educa- 


THE   RIGHT   TO  SELF  GOVERNMENT.  103 

tional  conditions,  and  all  of  the  elements  that  go  to  make 
up  good  citizenship,  are  to  be  equally  considered.  So  are 
the  resources  of  their  Territory  and  the  present  develop- 
ment of  those  resources."  (p.  5.) 

STATEHOOD  A  R.EWARD. 

"Statehood  should  come  as  the  reward  of  development, 
and  not  as  its  inducement.  Development  and  population 
should  precede  Statehood,  and  not  the  reverse."  (p.  22.) 

SELF  GOVERNMENT. 

'This  compels  consideration  of  a  much-used  argument 
that  the  people  of  a  Territory  are  deprived  of  self-govern- 
ment, and  are  entitled  as  a  right  to  this  great  privilege. 
This  argument  is  refuted  by  the  fact  that  the  people  of  the 
Territories  enjoy  practically  all  of  the  substance  of  self 
government  that  the  people  of  the  States  enjoy,  save  only 
the  power  of  creating  unlimited  debt.  In  other  respects 
the  people  are  self-governing;  they  have  their  own  legisla- 
ture which  they  themselves  elect.  This  legislature  passes 
all,  or  practically  all,  laws  which  a  State  legislature  may 
pass.  Their  taxes  are  fixed  and  levied  by  themselves. 
Their  schools  are  established  and  maintained  by  them- 
selves. Their  crimes  and  rights  are  determined,  punished 
and  enforced  by  themselves.  Their  governors  are  appoint- 
ed by  the  President  of  the  United  States,  but  under  the 
practice  now  established  this  governor  is  always  one  of 
themselves;  and  no  administration  would,  at  this  day  in 
the  Republic's  history,  keep  in  office  a  governor  seriously 
distasteful  to  a  majority  of  the  people."  (p.  22.) 

THE   ANSWERING  ARGUMENT   FOR   SELF   GOV- 
ERNMENT. 

(This  is  taken  from  the  printed  proceedings  of  the  H. 
R.  Committee  on  Territories  Jan.  29,  1908.) 

On  January  29,  1908,  before  the  House  Committee  on 
Territories,  Hon.  E.  L.  Hamilton,  chairman,  Gov.  Prince 
of  New  Mexico,  presented  the  following  resolutions  of  the 
Trans-Mississippi  Congress,  passed  November  21,  1907. 

"Whereas,  self-government  is  the  foundation  of  repub- 


104  THE  RIGHT   TO  SELF  GOVERNMENT. 

lican  institutions  and  the  dearest  right  of  every  American 
citizen,  and  no  American  community  should  be  deprived 
of  this  right  except  under  circumstances  which  make  its 
exercise  impossible,  and  such  deprivation  should  cease  the 
moment  those  circumstances  come  to  an  end ; 

"And  whereas  the  people  of  New  Mexico  have  been  kept 
under  a  military  or  Territorial  government  for  over  sixty 
3rears,  although  for  a  long  period  they  have  possessed  every 
requisite  for  successful  statehood,  including  population, 
taxable  valuation,  resources,  and  personal  character: 
Therefore 

"Kesolved,  That  this  long-continued  injustice  to  our 
fellow-citizens  of  New  Mexico  should  cease  at  the  earliest 
moment,  and  they  should  receive  their  proper  right  to  self- 
government  by  the  admission  of  New  Mexico  as  a  state." 

And  said :  Our  persistency  in  coming  here,  year  after 
year,  asking  for  the  admission  of  New  Mexico  as  a  State, 
may  almost  seem  to  require  an  apology,  but  we  come  in 
the  spirit  of  these  resolutions  which  declare  that  this  mat- 
ter of  self-government  is  the  fundamental  point  in  Ee- 
publican  institutions,  and  is  the  dearest  right  of  an 
American  citizen;  and  because  we  feel  that  a  failure  to 
show  that  persistence  in  so  vital  a  matter,  would  be  little 
less  than  a  crime  against  our  American  birthright, 

It  has  seemed  to  us  sometimes  that  most  of  the  commit- 
tees of  Congress  do  not  fully  appreciate  what  the  depriva- 
tion of  the  rights  of  self-government  13,  to  an  American 
citizen ;  and  perhaps  this  is  not  entirely  unnatural,  because, 
in  looking  over  the  membership  of  this  committee,  I  see 
that  there  is  only  one  man  on  the  committee  who  has  ever 
Jived  in  a  territory  (Mr.  Davenport  of  Oklahoma.) 

The  next  youngest  State  which  has  a  member  on  this 
committee  ended  its  territorial  existence  just  seventy  years 
ago ;  a  period  as  great  as  the  span  of  a  lifetime  and  double 
the  length  of  a  generation;  so  that  the  principal  member- 
ship of  this  committee  is  composed  of  those  who  have 
never  experienced  what  it  is  in  America  to  be  without  self- 
government,  because  they  have  never  lived  where  it  did  not 
exist. 


THE   RIGHT    TO   SELF   GOVERNMENT.  105 

We  are  all  surrounded  by  a  great  number  of  things  the 
value  of  which  we  fail  to  recognize  because  we  have  never 
been  deprived  of  them.  We  do  not  realize  the  value  of  the 
surrounding  atmosphere  until  we  are  suddenly  deprived 
of  air,  and  find  ourselves  being  smothered  to  death. 

If  any  of  you  gentlemen,,  who  have  lived  in  an  atmos- 
phere of  self-government  all  your  days,  so  that  it  seems 
almost  like  a  part  of  nature  itself,  should  find  yourselves 
suddenly  deprived  of  it  entirely,  you  would  probably  bet- 
ter appreciate  its  value,  and  would  have  some  idea  of  that 
of  which  your  fellow-citizens  in  the  territories  are  deprived. 
If  the  officials  of  your  states  were  appointed  by  some  power 
in  whose  selection  you  had  no  voice  whatever,  you  would 
quickly  recognize  the  change  in  your  situation  and  your 
comparatively  helpless  condition.  If,  in  addition  to  this, 
that  appointing  power  was  located  thousands  of  miles  away 
so  that  it  could  by  no  possibility  have  a  knowledge  of  local 
conditions,  and  the  true  character  of  local  men,  the  situa- 
tion would  be  far  more  intolerable. 

The  system  of  provincial  government,  under  which  local 
officials  are  appointed  by  a  central  supreme  power,  far 
from  the  localities  affected,  has  always  been  bad  from  the 
days  of  Babylon  anl  Assyria  down  to  the  Turkish  and  Per- 
sian empires  of  our  own  times.  It  can  not  be  otherwise, 
for  its  fundamental  principle  is  wrong.  No  matter  how 
well-meaning  the  appointing  power  may  be,  the  result  is 
largely  the  same. 

Of  course,  good  men  may  occasionally  be  appointed  un- 
der that  system  as  they  are  under  any  other,  but  the  sys- 
tem itself  is  essentially  vicious,  for  it  is  impossible  for  the 
appointing  power  to  have  personal  knowledge  of  require- 
ments and.  character,  and  the  most  unworthy  or  corrupt 
officials  are  those  who  can  afford  to  expend  the  most,  both 
in  time  and  money,  to  prevent  its  enlightenment,  or  any 
reform  in  administration.  While  it  would  seem  as  if,  in 
America,  the  redress  of  such  evils  ought  to  be  easy,  exper- 
ience has  too  often  shown,  not  only  that  the  officials  thus 
appointed  by  some  accident  of  favoritism,  are  entirely  re- 
gardless of  the  people,  because  they  are  not  responsible  to 


106  THE   RIGHT   TO   SELF   GOVERNMENT. 

them,  but  also,,  that  the  worse  the  official,  the  more  inge- 
nuity he  develops  in  intrenching  himself  in  power. 

Again,  this  system  is  practically  the  destruction  of  an 
enlightened  and  vigilant  public  sentiment.  We  are  a  prac- 
tical people  here  in  America,  and  as  a  rule  we  do  not  cul- 
tivate anything  unless  it  has  practical  value,  and  when 
public  sentiment  cannot  be  effectively  exercised  in  a  prac- 
tical way,  it  does  not  nourish.  In  no  community  that  is 
not  self-governed  can  you  find  a  healthy,  vigorous  and  ac- 
tive public  sentiment  either  in  the  Press  or  among  the 
people,  because  it  is  without  power  either  to  effect  appoint 
ments  or  removals,  or  to  reform  the  administration  of  the 
government.  Thus  the  whole  fiber  of  good  citizenship  is 
weakened. 

What  we  insist  upon  is  that  this  right  to  self-government 
ib  so  fundamental  in  our  institutions  that  no  citizen  should 
be  deprived  of  it  except  under  such  peculiar  circumstances 
as  render  its  -exercise  impossible  or  dangerous.  When  a 
population  is  so  sparse  that  it  is  not  able  to  support  a  local 
government  or  that  elections  are  impracticable,  one  of  these 
exceptional  cases  occurs,  and  such  a  population  has  to  be 
ruled  in  some  other  way  and  is  deprived  temporarily  of  its 
right  to  self-government;  but  the  moment  the  peculiar 
conditions  are  removed  the  disability  should  vanish  with 
them  and  the  citizen  should  regain  his  inherent  right. 

A  territorial  condition  is  an  exceptional  one,  only  intend- 
ed as  a  temporary  expedient,  and  is  in  derogation  of  the 
civil  rights  of  all  the  citizens  affected  thereby ;  and,  as  the 
normal  condition  of  an  American  citizen  is  one  of  self- 
government,  the  burden  of  proof  is  upon  those  who  desire 
to  continue  the  abnormal  form,  and  not  upon  those  who 
insist  on  the  organization  of  a  state. 


JOINT   STATEHOOD   MOVEMENT.  107 

CHAPTEE  XVII. 

JOINT    STATEHOOD   MOVEMENT   OF   1906. 

That  the  idea  of  Joint- Statehood  for  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona  was  distasteful  in  both  territories,  there  is  no 
doubt.  There  was  good  reason  for  this.  It  was  not  caused 
by  any  ill  feeling  in  either  of  the  Territories  toward  the 
other,  but  because  there  was  an  entire  lack  of  cohesion  and 
community  of  interest.  They  were  more  disconnected,  so 
far  as  personal  acquaintance  and  business  or  social  rela- 
tions go,  than  most  States  far  more  distant  from  each  other. 
Nature  itself  had  separated  them  by  placing  the  great 
Continental  Divide  as-  a  practical  barrier  between  them. 
The  rivers  of  New  Mexico  flow  eastward  or  southward  to 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Atlantic ;  those  of  Arizona  flow 
westward  to  the  Gulf  of  California  and  the  Pacific.  The 
trade  and  business  relations  of  Arizona  are  with  Califor- 
nia and  the  Pacific  coast,  those  of  New  Mexico  are  with 
Kansas  City,  St.  Louis,  Chicago,  an^  New  York.  As  a 
rule  no  New  Mexican  visits  Arizona  except  en  route  to 
California:  and  no  citizen  of  Arizona  visits  New  Mexico 
except  en  route  to  the  east;  and  those  visits  are  simply 
en  passant.  The  number  of  residents  of  either  Territory 
who  have  ever  passed  a  night  in  the  other,  except  in  a  rail- 
road car,  is  remarkably  small.  In  short,  there  is  less  con- 
nection between  the  two  than  there  is  between  either  one 
of  them  and  New  York  or  California. 

It  seemed  impossible  for  the  eastern  mind  to  grasp  this 
elemental  fact.  The  average  eastern  Congressman,  know- 
ing that  each  Territory  was  anxious  for  Statehood,  and 
really  unfavorable  to  an  increase  of  western  States,  looked 
at  the  map,  saw  two  squares  contiguous  to  each  other,  and 
instantly  found  a  satisfactory  solution  of  the  difficulty 
by  saying:  "Why  not  join  them  together  and  make  one 
oblong  of  them?"  The  opponents  of  western  influence  saw 
in  this  an  easy  method  to  reduce  the  danger  of  too  many 
Senators;  and  to  the  ignorant  and  unthinking  it  seemetf 
a  simple  and  natural  arrangement;  and  so  the  "joint  State- 


108  JOINT   STATEHOOD    MOVEMENT. 

Lood  Bill"  was  passed.  How  President  Eoosevelt  could 
have  been  induced  to  favor  it,  with  his  general  knowledge 
oi'  western  conditions,  is  one  of  those  mysterious  things 
past  ordinary  comprehension ;  but  he  certainly  did  give 
the  project  the  entire  weight  of  his  great  influence. 

The  feeling  on  the  part  of  Arizona  was  plainly  expressed. 
Gov.  Joseph  H.  Kibbey  in  his  report  to  the  Secretary  of 
the  Interior,  of  1905,  devoted  almost  his  entire  attention 
to  an  argument,  and  an  able  one,  against  jointure,  from 
the  Arizona  standpoint.  He  summed  up  the  matter  in  this 
brief  sentence:  "The  proposed  union  is  regarded  by  our 
people  as  a  menace  to  the  property  and  progress  of  the  Ter- 
ritory." 

At  the  hearings  before  the  Committee  on  Territories  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  in  January,  1906,  the  repre- 
sentatives of  Arizona  expressed  their  opposition  to  this 
union — we  might  almost  say,  their  detestation  of  it — in 
words  more  forcible  than  complimentary.  It  would  be  dif- 
ficult to  use  language  more  distinct.  The  chairman  of  their 
delegation,  Mr.  Dwight  B.  Heard,  said:  "We  are  opposed 
to  Joint  Statehood.  We  want  to  be  let  alone.  A  vast 
majority  of  the  people  of  Arizona,  regardless  of  politics 
or  business,  are  utterly  opposed  to  Joint  Statehood." 

Mr.  E.  E.  Morrison  said :  "We  object  to  this  amalgama- 
tion, and  object  to  being  dominated  by  people  whom  we  do 
not  think  should  be  mixed  up  with  us  at  all." 

They  presented  a  petition  against  jointure  which  they 
stated  had  been  signed  by  thirty-one  hundred  people  within 
thirty  minutes,  at  their  Territorial  Fair;  and  they  added 
that  only  two  per  cent,  of  those  to  whom  it  was  then  pre- 
sented declined  to  sign. 

Mr.  W.  S.  Sturges  said :  "I  know  the  Arizona  cattle  men ; 
every  one,  owner  and  cow  boy,  is  against  Joint  Statehood 
to  a  finish.  As  one  man  expressed  it,  *We  would  rather  see 
it  a  Territory  to  all  eternity  than  joined  to  New  Mexico.' '' 

Gten.  A.  J.  Sampson  .used  these  words :  "It  would  be  un- 
wise, unjust  and  un-American  to  force  us  into  the  pro- 
posed Statehood."  "In  the  name  of  all  that  is  just  and 


JOINT   STATEHOOD    MOVEMENT.  109 

right  do  not  try  to  force  us  into  this  unnatural,,  inharmon- 
ious, unholy  and  un-American  wedlock." 

More  than  a  dozen  members  of  that  delegation  addressed 
the  committee  and  each  in  turn  said  that  while  they  wished 
for  Statehood,  yet  they  infinitely  preferred  remaining  as 
a  Territory  to  being  linked  with  New  Mexico. 

While  no  such  violent  language  was  used  in  New  Mexico, 
yet  the  general  sentiment  of  the  people  of  the  Territory 
was  thoroughly  opposed  to  jointure. 

What  made  the  plan  even  more  unpalatable  to  New 
Mexicans  was  the  proposition  to  call  the  new  State  "Ari- 
zona." This  showed  as  great  an  ignorance  of  history  as 
the  proposed  union  did  of  geography. 

For  Arizona  at  best  only  represented  what  had  been  a 
single  county  of  New  Mexico,  and  to  impose  the  name  of 
the  daughter  on  the  parent  domain,  was,  at  least,  a  humili- 
ation. Besides,  the  name  Arizona  had  no  settled  meaning 
and  no  historic  interest.  It  seems,  according  to  the  best 
authorities,  to  have  been  the  Pima  name  of  the  locality  of 
a  mine  in  northern  Sonora,  with  no  known  significance  and 
very  various  spelling;  and  was  used  as  a  name  of  a  new 
county  established  by  the  New  Mexico  legislature  in  1860 
to  include  the  Gadsden  Purchase  and  adjoining  territory. 
To  abandon  the  historic  name  of  New  Mexico  was  always 
obnoxious  to  the  New  ^Mexican  people,  for  reasons  stated 
ir  another  chapter. 

But  the  Joint  Statehood  Bill  having  been  passed  and 
signed,  the  practical  question  was,  what  to  do  about  it. 
The  national  administration  in  Washington  was  fully  com- 
mitted to  this  plan  of  admission.  The  Territories  were 
practically  threatened  by  the  dominant  powers  at  the  na- 
tional Capitol  that  if  this  plan  for  admission  was  rejected 
by  the  people,  it  would  be  long  before  any  new  opportunity 
for  Statehood  could  be  obtained.  In  the  minds  of  most 
New  Mexicans  it  was  a  choice  between  two  evils,  and  the 
intense  desire  to  escape  from  the  demoralizing  conditions 
almost  inseparable  from  the  provincial  system,  and  to 
enjoy  the  American  right  of  self-government,  prevailed 
with  a  great  number  of  citizens. 


110  JOINT   STATEHOOD    MOVEMENT. 

Mr.  Eodey  stated  his  own  change  of  opinion  and  the 
reasons  therefor  very  plainh'  before  the  House  Committee 
on  January  20th,  1906.  He  said :  "It  is  either  Joint  State- 
hood now  or  else  it  is  a  Territorial  condition  for  twenty 
years  to  come."  "It  is  my  firm  and  absolute  belief  that 
Xew  Mexico  and  Arizona  will  never  come  into  the  Union 
except  as  a  Joint  State,  and  we  might  as  well  come  to  it 
now  as  at  any  other  time."  "Three  years  ago  I  was  shocked 
at  the  idea  of  jointure.  But  we  have  found  that  separate 
Statehood  in  modern  times  is  impossible." 

The  two  political  organizations  in  Xew  Mexico,  usually 
too  antagonistic  to  work  harmoniously  in  any  cause, 
through  their  territorial  committees  united  in  an  appeal 
to  the  people  to  vote  "aye"  at  the  election,  for  Joint  Stater 
hood.  In  their  joint  circular  they  said :  "President  Roose- 
velt lias  frankly  told  us  that  if  we  reject  this  offer  we  must 
expect  years  to  pass  before  we  have  another.  He  has 
a?ked  us  to  accept  it.  We  believe  this  is  true."  "If  the 
people  of  Arizona  see  fit  to  reject  it,  however  much  we  may 
regret  it,  that  is  no  reason  why  Xew  Mexico  should  do  so. 
A  decided  vote  for  it  by  Xew  Mexico  will  undoubtedly 
hasten  the  day  when  we  will  get  Statehood,  either  joint  or 
single.''  Then  follows  a  full  statement  as  to  the  donations 
of  public  lands,  their  aid  to  the  public  schools,  etc.,  and  the 
circular  signed  by  the  ten  members  of  the  joint  committee, 
concluded  with  these  stirring  words:  "And  we  appeal  to 
every  citizen  in  Xew  Mexico  to  aid  by  his  vote  in  securing 
this  splendid  provision  for  the  education  of  the  children 
of  the  State,  representation  in  Congress  and  full  rights 
of  American  citizens  for  all  our  people." 

It  is  probable  that  the  almost  universal  belief  that  Ari- 
zona would  vote  against  jointure,  and  that  consequently 
Xew  Mexico  could  show  her  desire  for  Statehood  without 
danger,  and  place  herself  in  a  favorable  position  for  future 
action  in  Washington,  had  influence  with  some.  At  all 
events,  the  majority  in  favor  of  admission  under  the  Joint 
Statehood  Act,  at  the  election  of  1906,  in  Xew  Mexico,  was 
a  very  substantial  one,  the  vote  being  nearly  two  to  one 
in  the  Territory  and  as  high  as  ten  to  one  in  certain  coun- 
ties. It  was  officially  announced  as  follows : 


JOINT   STATEHOOD   MOVEMENT.  Ill 

CANVASS   OF  VOTE  BY   COUNTIES    ON    JOINT 

STATEHOOD  QUESTION. 

County.                                                           Yes.  No. 

Bernalillo    2623  1087 

Chaves   .  .  . ' 1279  308 

Colfax   2177  793 

Dona  Ana 1512  290 

Eddy   871  278 

Grant 980  696 

Guadalupe 611  608 

Lincoln 519  500 

Luna 207  170 

McKinley ; 259  89 

Mora 1606  394 

Qtero 795  351 

Quay 572  267 

Eio  Arriba   676  2038 

Roosevelt 1020  91 

Sancloval    518  438 

San  Juan 763  122 

San  Miguel   2503  1688 

Santa  Fe   697  1447 

Sierra 307  418 

Socorro 2040  455 

Taos    822  1070 

Torrance    551  275 

Union   ; 705  731 

Valencia  .  .                                                            1582  122 


26195     14735 
Majority  for  Joint  Statehood   11,460 

The  following  were  the  delegates  elected  in  New  Mexico 
to  the  Constitutional  Convention : 

Bernalillo  County — Federico  Chaves,  F.  W.  Clancy,  T. 
H.  Duran,  G.  S.  Klock,  E.  S.  Stover. 

Chaves  County — J.  W.  Poe,  G.  A.  Richardson. 

Colfax  County — M.  M.  Dawson,  P.  G.  Santistevan, 
Charles  Springer,  Jerome  Troy. 


112  JOINT  STATEHOOD   MOVEMENT. 

Dona  Ana  County — L.  F.  Elliot,  Jose  Gonzales,  R,  E. 
McBride. 

Eddy  County— E.  P.  Bujac. 

Grant  County— J.  L.  Burnside,  T.  W.  Carter,  R.  P. 
Thompson. 

Guadalupe  County — Celso  Baca,  F.  B.  Morse. 

Lincoln  County — J.  Y.  Hewitt,  G.  W.  Prichard. 

Luna  County— J.  N".  Upton. 

McKinley  County — Edward  Hart. 

Mora  County — C.  Fernandez,  Frank  A.  Roy,  Bias  San- 
chez, G.  P.  Sanchez. 

Otero  County — J.  M.  Helm,  J.  L.  Lawson. 

Quay  County — C.  C.  Davidson. 

Rio  Arriba  County— T.  D.  Burns,  J.  M.  C.  Chaves,  E. 
A.  Jaques,  L.  B.  Prince,  M.  S.  Salazar. 

Roosevelt  County — George  L.  Reese. 

Sandoval  County — Manuel  Armijo,  Paulin  Montoya. 

San  Juan  County — Jay  Turley. 

San  Miguel  County — Roman  Gallegos,  Jefferson  Ray- 
nolds,  Margarito  Romero,  W.  R.  Tipton,  R.  E.  Twitehell, 
Enrique  Sena,  Isidro  V.  Gallegos. 

Santa  Fe  County— J.  W.  Akers,  T.  B.  Catron,  David 
M.  White,  J.  A.  Wood. 

Sierra  County— H.  A.  Wolford. 

Socorro  County — H.  0.  Bursum,  M.  Cooney,  Porfirio 
Sanchez,  A.  A.  Sedillo. 

Taos  County — Jose  I.  Garcia,  Epimenio  D.  Leon,  A.  C. 
Pacheco. 

Torrance  County — F.  A.  Zamora. 

Union  County — 0.  P.  Easterwood,  E.  Sandoval,  M.  B. 
Sisneros. 

Valencia  County — Higinio  Chaves,  Manuel  P.  y  Chaves, 
Boleslo  Romero. 

Arizona  voted  "No"  on  the  Joint  Statehood  proposition, 
by  an  overwhelming  vote,  as  had  been  expected;  and  that 
negative  vote  ended  all  further  proceedings  under  .the  Joint 
Statehood  Act. 


PROPOSED  CONVENTION   OF   1907.  118 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 


PEOPOSED  CONVENTION  OF  1907. 

With  careful  foresight  preliminary  measures  had  been 
taken  in  advance  of  the  election,  to  take  advantage  of  ex- 
actly the  situation  which  actually  did  occur,  by  arranging 
that  in  case  Arizona  declined  the  proffered  partnership, 
but  New  Mexico  voted  for  Statehood,  the  New  Mexican 
delegates  should  meet  and  formulate  a  constitution  for  that 
State  alone,  and  present  it  in  Washington  with  a  request 
for  admission  under  it. 

The  advantages  of  this  course  were  obvious  to  everyone 
informed  as  to  the  history  of  the  admission  of  Territories. 
Much  of  the  opposition  in  Congress  to  the  passage  of  the 
Enabling  Act  was  founded,  either  really  or  as  a  pretext, 
on  doubts  as  to  the  character  of  Constitution  that  the 
Territory  would  adopt,  and  this  objection  would  be  entirely 
avoided  by  presenting  the  Constitution  in  advance.  The 
only  practical  objection  to  holding  such  a  convention  was 
the  fact  that,  as  it  was  a  voluntary  meeting  not  contem- 
plated by  the  Act  of  Congress,  there  would  be  no  salary 
attached  to  the  service,  and  the  work  would  be  a  patriotic 
labor  of  love.  It  was  thought,  however,  that  for  such 
an  important  service,  and  with  the  goal  of  immediate  State- 
hood in  view,  nearly  if  not  quite  all  of  the  delegates  elected 
would  be  willing  to  attend. 

Looking  forward  to  the  desirability  of  such  action,  the 
Republican  Territorial  Convention  held  just  previous  to 
the  election,  in  Las  Vegas,  unanimously  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing resolution,  offered  by  Hon.  L.  B.  Prince: 

"Resolved,  That  in  case  the  Hamilton  Statehood  Bill 
fails  to  become  operative  through  the  adverse  vote  of  the 
people  either  of  Arizona  or  New  Mexico,  we  recommend 
and  urge  that  the  66  delegates  elected  in  New  Mexico  to 
the  constitutional  convention,  should  assemble  in  the  Capi- 
tol on  January  7,  1907,  and  formulate  a  constitution  for 
the  State  of  New  Mexico;  and  we  further  urge  that  the 
territorial  legislature  enact  a  law  submitting  said  consititu- 


114  PROPOSED  CONVENTION   OF    1907. 

tion  to  the  vote  of  the  people,  and  if  approved  by  them, 
providing  for  its  presentation  to  Congress,  with  a  request 
for  the  admission  of  Xew  Mexico  into  the  Union  as  a  State 
thereunder." 

Precisely  the  circumstances  contemplated  by  the  reso- 
lution having  arisen,  a  considerable  number  of  the  dele- 
gates, representing  all  sections  of  the  Territory,  met  at  the 
Capitol  in  Santa  Fe  on  January  7th,  1907,  and  organized 
by  the  election  of  L.  B.  Prince  of  Eio  Arriba  County,  as 
president,  and  David  M.  White  of  Santa  Fe,  as  secretary. 
Letters  were  received  from  a  large  number  of  absent  dele- 
gates stating  that  they  would  attend  as  soon  an  active  busi- 
ness was  commenced.  Letters  were  also  read  from  a  num- 
ber of  leading  II.  S.  Senators  expressing  great  interest  in 
the  work  of  the  convention  and  urging  the  early  formation 
and  presentation  of  a  constitution.  The  Governors  of  Colo- 
rado, Oregon,'  Wisconsin,  Xorth  Dakota  and  other  States 
sent  copies  of  their  constitutions  and  other  documents,  with 
their  good  wishes.  A  telegraphic  dispatch  was  received 
from  the  President  of  the  Constitutional  Convention  of 
Oklahoma,  then  in  session,  conveying  the  greetings  of  that 
body,  and  this  was  followed  up  by  the  resolutions  in  full, 
sent  by  mail  and  received  shortly  thereafter  as  follows: 

WHEEEAS,  the  people  of  Oklahoma  earnestly  sympa- 
thize with  the  desire  of  the  people  of  Xew  Mexico  for  in- 
dependent statehood, 

Therefore,  be  it  resolved,  We  congratulate  the  delegates 
elected  by  the  people  of  Xew  Mexico  upon  their  determina- 
tion to  draft  a  constitution  for  the  State  of  Xew  Mexico, 
and  hereby  tender  them  our  cordial  sympathy. 

We  believe  that  Xew  Mexico  is  entitled  to  Statehood  as 
of  right ;  that  the  denial  of  Statehood  to  the  people  of  Xew 
Mexico  is  a  serious  wrong. 

We  believe  that  the  denial  of  Statehood  to  Xew  Mexico 
would  be  an  injury,  not  only  to  the  great  West,  but  to  the 
Union  itself. 

That  the  president  telegraph  the  greetings  of  this  con- 
vention to  the  Xew  Mexico  Constitutional  Convention. 
JXO.  M.  YOUXG,  WILLIAM  H.  MURRAY/ 

Secretary.  President. 


PROPOSED  CONVENTION   OF   1907.  115 

After  a  full  discussion  of  the  situation,,  it  was  resolved 
to  adjourn  to  February  5th,  when  the  legislature  would  be 
in  session;  and  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted: 

RESOLUTION. 

WHEREAS,  the  delegates  elected  by  the  people  of  New 
Mexico  to  the  proposed  joint  constitutional  convention  of 
New  Mexico  and  Arizona  did  on  January  7th,  1907,  con- 
vene and  assemble  at  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  drafting  an  independent  constitution  for  the  peo- 
ple of  New  Mexico,  with  a  view  to  its  submission  to  Con- 
gress with  a  demand  for  immediate  admission  of  New 
Mexico,  as  a  State  of  the  Union. 

Whereas,  The  people  of  New.  Mexico  have  demonstrated 
their  desire  for  Statehood  in  the  most  emphatic  manner 
at  the  recent  election,  by  giving  a  vote  of  26,195  against 
14,735,  in  favor  thereof,  under  very  adverse  conditions; 
and  the  total  vote  of  over  43,000  cast  at  that  election, 
proves  that  the  present  population  of  the  territory  is  more 
than  ample  for  separate  New  Mexico  statehood. 

Resolved,  That  we  are  willing  and  ready  to  perform  our 
part  in  the  preparation  of  a  constitution  for  New  Mexico 
at  such  time  as  shall  appear  most  proper  and  convenient. 

Resolved,  by  this  meeting  of  delegates  duly  elected  from 
New  Mexico  to  the  Constitutional  Convention  provided 
for  in  the  Act  of  Congress  commonly  called  the  Hamilton 
Bill,  that  in  our  opinion  the  admission  of  New  Mexico  as 
a  State  can  be  greatly  facilitated  and  hastened  by  the 
adoption  of  a  proper  constitution  and  its  presentation  to 
Congress  with  a  request  for  admission  thereunder. 

Resolved,  That  a  committee,  representing  all  sections, 
be  appointed  to  confer  with  the  territorial  legislature  soon 
to  convene,  as  to  the  best  time  and  method  of  holding  the 
session  for  the  formulation  of  such  constitution,  and  to 
take  such  measures  as  appear  best  for  the  promotion  of  the 
object. 

At  the  February  meeting,  a  large  number  of  delegates 
who  could  not  attend  in  January,  were  present.  All  rec- 
ognized the  importance  of  framing  a  constitution  as  soon 


116  PROPOSED  CONVENTION   OF   1907. 

as  practicable,  in  order  to  secure  early  Congressional  ac- 
tion, but  there  was  considerable  discussion  as  to  the  desir- 
ability of  asking  the  legislature  to  make  an  appropriation 
for  the  necessary  expenses  of  the  convention.  Many  dele- 
gates were  willing  to  serve  without  salary,  but  recognized 
the  injustice  of  asking  those  not  pecuniarly  able,  to  pay 
their  expenses  in  'addition  to  devoting  their  time  to  the 
cause.  Mr.  Klock  wished  to  pay  his  own  expenses,  but  Mr. 
Davidson  of  Quay  County  suggested  the  injustice  of  that 
course  to  delegates  having  long  distances  to  travel.  Mr. 
Eeese  of  Roosevelt,  by  letters,  agreed  with  this  latter  view. 
Gov.  Stover  thought  that  it  was  only  fair  to  pay  necessary 
expenses  and  this  appeared  to  be  the  general  opinion.  Mr. 
Catron  moved  that  a  committee  of  seven  be  appointed  to 
prepare  a  bill  for  the  legislature,  looking  to  a  meeting  of 
the  convention  in  August,  and  to  confer  with  members  of 
that  body  relative  to  its  provisions  and  passage.  This 
committee  consisted  of  Messrs.  Catron,  Stover,  Bursum, 
Boleslo  Romero,  G.  P.  Sanchez,  Jose  Gonzales  and  D.  M. 
White. 

For  reasons  difficult  to  understand,  no  further  action 
was  taken.  The  legislature  was  a  very  busy  one  and  large- 
ly occupied  by  political  contentions,  and  gave  the  subject 
scant  attention.  While  the  "Xew  Mexican,"  the  Albuquer- 
que "Citizen,"  and  many  local  papers  earnestly  supported 
the  plan  of  forming  a  constitution,  the  Las  Yeags  "Optic" 
and  some  other  journals  which  apparently  thought  an  en- 
abling act  was  necessary  and  did  not  remember  that  more 
than  half  the  Territories  had  been  admitted  on  their  own 
application  without  prior  action  of  Congress,  opposed  the 
meeting  of  the  convention.  After  the  legislature  had  failed 
to  act,  the  Governor  was  asked  to  name  a  time  for  the 
assembling  of  the  delegates,  in  order  to  give  the  convention 
his  official  sanction,  but  this  also  failed. 

Thus  again  the  opportunity  for  almost  immediate  admis- 
sion was  lost.  Every  one  has  since  realized  that  if  the 
delegates  had  gone  on  with  their  work  and  prepared  a 
constitution,  and  the  matter  could  thus  have  been  pre- 
sented to  Congress  in  the  succeeding  winter,  free  from 


PROPOSED  CONVENTION    OF    1907.  117 

uncertainty  as  to  the  character  of  the  government  which 
would  be  established,  N~ew  Mexico  would  have  become  a 
State  in  1908,  and  in  time  to  vote  at  the  presidential  elec- 
tion of  that  year.  What  is  almost  equally  important  is, 
that  the  constitution  would  have  been  framed  quietly  and 
deliberately,  without  clamor,  coercion  or  excitement,  and 
would  almost  certainly  have  been  a  model  instrument,  em- 
bodying the  best  systems  founded  on  modern  experience, 
without  the  theories  which  still  lack  the  sanction  of  prac- 
tical operation  under  various  conditions. 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  it  is  simply  just  to  name 
the  delegates  ^ho  attended  the  meetings  and  showed  active 
interest  in  the  work,  together  with  those  who  were  per- 
haps equally  zealous  in  the  good  cause,  and  promised  to  at- 
tend whenever  needed,  but  did  not  think  it  necessary  to 
be  present  until  the  real  work  should  be  commenced. 

Beside  President  Prince  of  Eio  Arriba  County  and  Sec- 
retary White  of  Santa  Fe,  they  were  as  follows — taken  in 
their  order  by  counties : 

E.-S.  Stover,  M.  S.  Salazar, 

F.  W.  Clancy,  G.  L.  Reese, 

G.  S.  Klock,  Jay  Turley, 

Jose  Gonzales,  Margarito  Romero, 

Celso  Baca,  Jefferson  Raynolds, 

F.  D.  Morse,  W.  R.  Tipton, 

G.  W.  Prichard,  T.  B.  Catron, 
Edward   Hart,  J.  W.  Akers, 
C.   Fernandez,  H.  0.  Bursum, 
G.  P.  Sanchez,  J.  I.  Garcia, 

C.  C.  Davidson,  E.  D.  Leon, 

J.  M.  C.  Chavez,  A.  C.  Pacheco, 

E.  A.  Jaquez,  Boleslo  Romero, 

Mr.  Romero,  of  Valencia,  also  assured  the  convention 
that  his  two  colleagues  from  that  county,  would  certainly 
attend  when  wanted. 


I 
118  CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION    1901   TO   1910. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 


CONGRESSIONAL  ACTION,  1901  TO  1910. 

Hon.  Bernard  S.  Rodey  was  delegate  from  New  Mexico 
in  both  the  57th  and  58th  Congresses,  which  extended 
from  1901  to  1905. 

To  say  that  he  was  devoted  to  the  cause  of  Statehood 
is  to  state  the  case  mildly.  He  was  enthusiastically  de- 
voted to  it.  He  set  before  himself  as  the  one  great  object 
to  be  attained  during  his  Concessional  service,  the  passage 
of  an  Enabling  Act  for  New  Mexico.  Everything  else  was 
subordinated  to  it,  in  order  that  this  particular  matter 
could  have  undivided  attention. 

In  Washington  and  New  Mexico,  in  hotels  and  on  rail- 
road trains,  in  public  speech  and  in  conversation,  in  sea- 
son and  out  of  season,  this  was  his  one  great  theme;  and 
nothing  could  weary  him  so  long  as  there  was  an  argument 
to  answer  or  an  auditor  to  convince. 

At  the  very  outset  of  his  Congressional  work,  at  the 
opening  of  the  57th  Congress,  he  endeavored  to  arrange 
with  the  Speaker  so  that  the  New  Mexico  Statehood  bill 
should  be  the  first  introduced  in  that  session,  and  actually 
succeeded  in  having  it  recorded  as  House  Bill  No.  2.  The 
bill,  as  usual,  went  to  the  Committee  on  Territories. 

Unfortunately  there  was  great  activity  relative  to  the 
territories  at  this  session.  While  but  three  of  the  regular- 
ly organized  territories  still  existed,  each  was  making  heroic 
efforts  to  be  admitted  to  the  Union  and  each  was  selfishly 
anxious  to  be  the  first  to  receive  consideration.  Among 
the  Statehood  bills  then  in  the  Committee  on  Territories 
were  No.,  2,  the  New  Mexico  bill  just  named ;  No.  152,  an 
Enabling  Act  for  Oklahoma;  No.  2015,  a  similar  bill  for 
Arizona;  No.  4570,  authorizing  single  Statehood  for  Okla- 
homa and  Indian  Territory;  No.  9675,  providing  for  the 
union  of  Oklahoma  and  Indian  Territory;  No.  11992,  an- 
other bill  for  Arizona  singly;  No.  11995,  a  similar  bill  for 
New  Mexico ;  and  No.  12543,  "to  enable  the  people  of  Ok- 
lasoma,  Arizona  and  New  Mexico  to  form  constitutions 


CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION    1901   TO   1910.  119 

and  state  governments,  and  be  admitted  into  the  Union 
on  an  equal  footing  with  the  original  states." 

On  April  1,  1902,  the  committee,,  through  Mr.  Knox,  re- 
ported in  favor  of  the  latter  measure,  thus  uniting  all  the 
territories  in  one  omnibus  bill.  (Report  No.  1309).  In 
this  shape  it  passed  the  House  on  May  9th  and  was  re- 
ceived by  the  Senate  on  May  12th. 

It  was  at  this  stage  of  the  long  struggle,  that  Senator 
Quay  of  Pennsylvania  became  such  an  ardent  champion 
of  New  Mexico,  that  the  grateful  people  through  their 
legislature  named  one  of  their  counties  for  him. 

From  this  time  as  long  as  he  remained  in  the  Senate 
he  was  always  not  only  the  consistent  friend  but  the  out- 
spoken advocate  of  the  Sunshine  Territory,  and  gave  its 
cause  in  the  Senate  a  power  that  it  never  before  had  pos- 
sessed. In  the  very  beginning  of  the  second  session  of 
this  Congress — December,  1902 — came  the  first  clash  be- 
tween Senator  Quay  and  Senator  Beveridge  on  the  subject 
of  this  bill;  Senator  Beveridge  wishing  a  postponement 
and  Senator  Quay  urging  immediate  action.  "If  we  are 
to  have  a  fight,"  said  the  latter,  "we  may  as  well  have  it 
this  afternoon." 

The  plan  of  the  opponents  of  New  Mexico  at  this  time 
was  to  drop  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  from  the  bill  and 
pass  it  for  Oklahoma  alone. 

On  December  15th,  1902,  Senator  Bate  presented  a  min- 
ority report  signed  by  himself  and  Senators  Heitfeld, 
Bailey  and  Patterson  (Report  No.  2206)  favoring  the 
passage  of  the  House  bill  as  it  stood  and  ably  arguing  the 
cause  of  New  Mexico  and  opposing  its  exclusion  from  the 
bill.  This  report  quoted  at  considerable  length  from  a 
recent  speech  of  Senator  Quay. 

The  discussion  continued  to  the  end  of  the  session  on 
March  4th,  all  attempts  to  secure  a  final  vote  having 
failed.  On  February  19th,  Senator  Elkins  made  an  ex- 
cellent speech  in  favor  of  New  Mexico  and  its  people.  He 
spoke  from  his  own  experience  in  the  Territory  not  only 
of  the  prevalent  conditions  and  the  character  of  the  peo- 
ple, but  bore  testimony  as  to  the  wretched  system  of  Ter- 


120  CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION    1901    TO   1910. 

ritorial  government.  "Xo  man  who  has  not  lived  in  a 
Territory  can  understand  how  dwarfing  are  the  conditions 
that  obtain.  I  lived  in  Xew  Mexico  ten  years  and  I  know 
how  intolerable  are  the  burdens  of  a  Territorial  govern- 
ment. A  Territory  is  simply  a  temporary  arrangement,  a 
probation  period/'7 

The  end  of  the  session  of  course  destroyed  the  hopes  of 
immediate  Statehood  and  left  the  work  to  be  begun  again 
in  the  next  Congress;  and  so  far  as  Xew  Mexico  was  con- 
cerned, the  history  of  the  58th  Congress  was  very  similar 
to  that  of  the  57th.  Mr.  Eodey  was  equally  zealous  as  in 
the  preceding  Congress;  but  even  his  enthusiasm  could 
not  produce  the  desired  effect;  and  the  sessions  were  bar- 
ren of  result. 

The  question  of  forming  one  State  by  uniting  Xew 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  became  prominent  at  this  time,  the 
bill  which  elicited  most  debate  being  H.  R.  14749,  which 
was  an  enabling  act  for  Oklahoma  and  the  Indian  Terri- 
tory as  one  State,  and  for  Xew  Mexico  and  Arizona  as  one 
State.  On  this,  Senator  Beveridge  made  a  notable  speech, 
entitled  "Arizona  the  Great/7  in  closing  the  discussion 
on  February  6,  1905,  in  which  he  pictures  the  glory  of  the 
combined  State  in  these  eloquent  words :  "Xot  Arizona  the 
little,  but  Arizona  the  great;  not  Arizona  the  provincial, 
but  Arizona  the  national;  not  Arizona  the  creature  of  a 
politician7s  device,  but  Arizona  the  child  of  the  Xation7s 
wisdom.77 

In  1905,  Hon.  W.  H.  Andrews  became  delegate  from 
Xew  Mexico,  and  took  up  the  work  of  the  Struggle  where 
it  had  been  left  by  his  predecessor.  Mr.  Andrews  was  no 
less  anxious  for  Statehood  than  Mr.  Rodey;  but  his  meth- 
od of  operation  was  entirely  different.  He  Avas  never 
known  to  make  a  regular  "speech,77  except  of  the  shortest 
description;  but  as  a  quiet  and  convincing  conversation- 
alist he  had  few  equals.  From  long  experience  in  legisla- 
tive bodies  he  had  learned  that  quiet,  individual  work  is 
the  most  effective,  and  he  employed  this  method  assidu- 
ously. His  close  connection  with  Senators  Quay  and  Pen- 
rose  and  the  Pennsylvania  delegation  gave  him  an  influ- 


CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION    1901    TO   1910.  121 

ence  that  was  very  valuable,  and  which  was  constantly 
used  to  advance  the  cause  of  New  Mexican  statehood. 

On  December  13th,  1905,  Mr.  Andrews  introduced  H. 
E.  7042,  an  Enabling  Act  with  the  usual  title,  which  took 
the  customary  course  of  reference  to  the  Committee  on 
Territories.  Soon  afterwards,  on  January  20,  1906,  Mr. 
Hamilton,  chairman  of  the  committee,  presented  a  bill 
quite  similar  to  the  one  discussed  during  the  preceding 
session,  to  enable  Oklahoma  and  the  Indian  Territory  to 
become  one  State,  and  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  another; 
and  this  passed  the  House  almost  immediately,  on  Janu- 
ary 25th.  At  the  opening  of  the  second  session  of  this 
Congress  (the  59th)  Senator  Teller  introduced  a  bill  for 
separate  Statehood  for  New  Mexico  (Senate  7079)  ;  the 
jointure  project  having  been  rejected  by  the  vote  of  Ari- 
zona in  November;  and  as  there  was  no  chance  for  action 
at  that  time,  he  re- introduced  the  same  bill  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  next  Congress  on  December  4,  1907^  (Senate 
515,  60th  Congress). 

Two  days  before,  on  December  2nd,  the  first  day  of  the 
session,  Delegate  Andrews  introduced  a  single  Statehood 
bill  for  New  Mexico,  in  the  usual  form  (House  Bill  No. 
4).  At  his  request  Senator  Penrose  presented  the  same 
bill  in  the  Senate  on  December  9th  (Senate  1484).  It 
was  on  this  House  bill  that  the  hearing  was  held  on  Janu- 
ary 29,  1908,  referred  to  elsewhere.  Practically  the  same 
bill  was  re-introduced  at  the  beginning  of  the  short  ses- 
sion of  that  Congress,  December  8th,  1908;  as  that  was 
the  time  when  action  had  been  promised  a  year  before  by 
certain  officials  in  Washington;  but  as  usual  that  promise 
turned  out  to  be  only  a  subterfuge  for  delay. 

On  February  3rd/1909,  Hon.  E.  L.  Hamilton,  of  Michi- 
gan, chairman  of  the  House  Committee,  who  deserves  a 
warm  spot  in  the  heart  of  every  New  Mexican  on  account 
of  his  constant  friendliness  to  the  Territory,  introduced 
House  Bill  No.  27607  of  the  60th  Congress,  being  an  en- 
abling act  for  New  Mexico  and  one  for  Arizona,  combined 
in  one  bill,  but  entirely  separate  in  their  operations.  This 
was  the  conclusion  of  the  House  Committee  on  the  subject 


122  CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION    1901    TO   1910. 

of  Statehood  for  the  Territories,  after  various  hearings  and 
full  consideration  during  the  greater  part  of  two  sessions 
of  Congress;  and  was  as  satisfactory  to  New  Mexico  as 
could  be  expected.  Of  course  it  could  not  be  passed  in 
the  few  remaining  weeks  of  that  Congress,  but  it  presented 
a  good  foundation  for  work  and  success  in  the  succeeding 
year. 

When  the  61st  Congress  met,  in  December,  1909,  Mr. 
Andrews  again  represented  New  Mexico,  having  been  re- 
elected  mainly  on  the  Statehood  issue.  He  pursued  the 
course  of  wisdom  by  co-operating  with  the  House  Commit- 
tee on  Territories,  with  the  result  that  on  January  17, 
1910,  the  so-called  Hamilton  Bill— H.  R.  18166— was 
passed  by  the  House  of  Representatives  without  opposition. 
It  was  received  in  the  Senate  the  next  day  and  referred  to 
the  Committee  on  Territories. 

It  was  well  known  that  Senator  Beveridge  had  in  mind 
a  number  of  provisions  varying  from  those  in  the  Hamil- 
ton Bill,  and  his  ideas  took  official  shape  in  a  bill  intro- 
duced in  the  Senate  on  January  31,  by  Senator  Dilling- 
ham  "for  Mr.  Beveridge"  who  was  absent  from  Washing- 
ton. This  bill,  known  as  Senate  5916,  had  exactly  the  same 
title  as  that  of  the  Hamilton  Bill,  and  was  immediately 
referred  to  the  same  committee. 

Thanks  to  strong  influences  outside  of  Congress,  pre- 
eminent among  which  was  that  of  President  Taft,  who  in- 
sisted that  the  pledge  contained  in  the  Republican  Nation- 
al Platform  should  be  fulfilled  by  the  admission  of  the 
Territories,  there  was  now  little  outspoken  opposition  to 
Statehood  for  either  New  Mexico  or  Arizona;  and  the 
Senate  Committee,  having  both  bills  before  it,  was  in  a 
position  to  settle  all  details.  Various  hearings  were  held, 
including  that  of  February  18th,  referred  to  in  another 
Chapter,  and  the  committee  gave  careful  attention  to  the 
subject  until  March  14th,  when  Mr.  Beveridge  made  a  re- 
port, using  the  Hamilton  Bill  (H.  B.  18166)  as  its  basis, 
but  striking  out  all  of  that  bill  and  substituting  the  Bev- 
eridge bill  with  a  few  slight  amendments. 

This  report  put  the  bill  on  the  calendar  as  No.   388, 


CONGRESSIONAL   ACTION   1901   TO   1910.  123 

and  brought  the  matter  squarely  before  the  Senate.  Good 
faith  and  good  temper  characterized  the  final  disposition 
of  this  great  subject. 


124  FINAL  SUCCESS. 

CHAPTEK  XX. 

FINAL  SUCCESS. 

For  three  months  the  Statehood  Bill  remained  on  the 
calendar  of  the  Senate,  and  until  June  15th  there  was  al- 
ways a  doubt  as  to  the  final  result.  As  time  passed  Con- 
gress became  restless  at  the  length  of  the  session,  and  the 
members  expressed  great  anxiety  for  an  adjournment  not 
later  than  Saturday,  June  18th.  Several  times  the  con- 
sideration of  the  Statehood  Bill  had  been  postponed  in 
order  to  allow  other  measures  of  national  importance  to  be 
taken  up,  and  the  last  of  these  was  what  was  known  as 
the  Conservation  Bill.  While  the  action  of  the  Committee 
on  Territories  appeared  to  be  in  good  faith,  yet  there  were 
still  many  who  were  suspicious  of  its  real  desire  for  the 
passage  of  the  bill. 

At  length,  on  June  loth,  at  half  past  five  in  the  after- 
noon, the  Conservation  Bill  Avas  passed;  the  Statehood 
Bill  was  immediately  announced,  and  as  the  hour  was 
late,  by  general  agreement  it  was  made  "unfinished  busi- 
ness/' which  would  bring  it  up  at  two  p.  m.  on  every  day 
until  finally  disposed  of;  and  the  Senate  then  adjourned. 

On  the  succeeding  day  at  exactly  two  o'clock  Vice- 
President  Sherman  laid  the  Statehood  (Bill  before  the  Sen- 
ate as  the  subject  then  in  order.  Senator  Beveridge  as 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Territories,  explained  the 
proposed  amendments  embodied  in  the  Senate  Bill.  The 
most  important  was  that  which  required  the  Statehood 
elections  in  Arizona  to  be  held  under  the  territorial  law 
as  it  existed  before  the  disfranchising  statute  of  the  last 
legislature ;  others  related  to  the  donations  of  public  lands, 
to  the  payment  of  territorial  and  local  debts,  etc. 

He  was  followed  by  Senators  Frazier,  kelson,  Hughes 
and  Smoot.  All  were  in  favor  of  Statehood,  but  the  dem- 
ocratic Senators  preferred  the  Hamilton  or  House  Bill. 
Senator  Frazier,  speaking  for  the  democrats  on  the  com- 
mittee, opposed  the  Senate  substitute  because  it  sought  to 
fix  the  qualifications  of  voters  in  Arizona.  Senator  Hughes 


FINAL  SUCCESS.  125 

also  advocated  the  House  (Bill  because  it  did  not  place  so 
many  restrictions  on  the  new  States  as  were  contained  in 
the  Senate  Bill.  Senator  Smoot  insisted  on  immediate  ad- 
mission and  said  that  even  if  both  new  States  were  to  be 
democratic  he  would  favor  their  admission  as  a  right. 

The  only  division  was  as  to  preference  for  the  Senate  or 
the  House  Bill.  The  vote  on  this  question  was  by  strict 
party  lines,  the  republicans  voting  for  the  Senate  Bill  and 
the  democrats  for  the  House  Bill,  the  result  being  42  to 
19  in  favor  of  the  former.  On  the  final  vote  on  the  passage 
of  the  bill,  the  vote  was  unanimous ! 

While  this  result  was  extremely  gratifying,  there  was 
still  much  apprehension  felt  as  to  the  result  in  case  the 
House  declined  to  concur  in  the  Senate  amendments  and 
insisted  on  a  conference.  The  latter  was  the  usual  course 
of  procedure,  and  it  was  freely  asserted  that  the  two 
Houses  would  never  agree.  In  fact,  it  was  intimated  that 
the  action  of  the  Senate  would  not  have  been  so  harmon- 
ious but  for  the  general  belief  that  the  House  would  non- 
concur. 

Here  again  the  President  did  good  service  to  New  Mex- 
ico. He  held  conferences  with  several  influential  mem- 
bers of  the  House,  including  Chairman  Hamilton,  and 
iirged  that  the  Senate  amendments  should  be  concurred 
in  without  conference.  His  influence  was  very  effective, 
and  many  who  preferred  the  House  Bill  agreed  to  sink 
their  personal  desires  in  order  to  avoid  any  risk  as  to  the 
final  passage  of  the  bill.  The  President  was  also  anxious 
to  have  early  action  in  order  that  the  bill  might  be  signed 
before  his  contemplated  journey  to  the  Yale  Commence- 
ment on  Monday,  the  20th.  Another  factor  that  contrib- 
uted to  this  action  was  the  desire  for  an  early  adjourn- 
ment of  Congress,  and  the  certainty  that  a  conference,  fol- 
lowed by  a  disagreement,  would  bring  about  a  long  debate- 
that  would  greatly  retard  the  close  of  the  session. 

Mr.  Andrews,  upon  whose  judgment  many  relied,  con- 
cluded that  now  that  success  was  actually  within  its  grasp, 
it  was  better  for  the  Territory  to  accept  the  Senate  amend- 
ments and  end  the  matter  forever,  than  to  run  any  risk 


126  FINAL  SUCCESS. 

of  failure  through  a  disagreement  of  the  Houses.  Govern- 
or Mills,  who  was  in  Washington  at  the  time,  concurred 
in  this  view  and  telegraphed  on  the  17th  that  the  House 
would  probably  accept  the  action  of -the  Senate.  On  that 
day  the  bill  still  lay  on  the  table  of  the  Speaker,  not  yet 
announced. 

Shortly  after  two  o'clock, on  the  afternoon  of  Saturday, 
June  18th,  Speaker  Cannon  laid  the  bill  as  amended  in 
the  Senate  before  the  House.  There  was  a  moment  of  sup- 
pressed excitement,  and  then  Mr.  Lloyd  of  Missouri,  the 
senior  democratic  member  of  the  committee,  rose  and  said 
that  while  he  was  not  entirely  satisfied  with  the  Senate 
Bill,  yet  in  order  to  insure  immediate  Statehood  for  the 
Territories  he  would  not  oppose  it.  Instantly,  Mr.  Ham- 
ilton, the  committee  chairman,  moved  to  concur  in  the 
Senate  amendments.  Shouts  of  "vote,  vote,"  arose  from 
all  sides  of  the  House.  The  question  was  put,  viva  voce, 
there  being  no  demand  for  a  roll  call,  and  the  House  con- 
curred by  a  unanimous  vote ! 

The  deed  was  done  !  The  long  conflict  of  sixty  years  was 
over !  Members  crowded  around  Delegate  Andrews  to  offer 
congratulations.  All  knew  that  the  passage  of  this  bill 
had  been  the  object  of  his  labors  for  years  and  that  this 
was  the  happiest  moment  of  his  life. 

The  good  news  was  flashed  to  Santa  Fe,  and  in  a  moment 
by  direction  of  Acting  Governor  Jaffa,  the  national  flag 
was  unfurled  on  the  tall  staff  at  the  corner  of  the  historic 
Palace,  and  following  the  lead  of  the  "New  Mexican," 
where  the  news  was  first  received,  all  the  buildings  on  the 
Plaza  were  quickly  covered  with  red,  white  and  blue. 

AT  LAST. 

That  was  on  Saturday. 

'The  President  had  signified  his  desire  to  affix  the  sig- 
nature which  would  give  legal  vitality  to  the  bill  and  trans- 
form it  into  a  Law,  before  leaving  Washington  on  Mon- 
day :  so,  all  the  preceding  formalities  were  hastened. 

On  Monday  moaning,  notwithstanding  its  length,  the 
Statehood  Bill  was  properly  enrolled  and  ready  for  the 
official  signatures.  As  soon  as  the  House  assembled  it  was 


FINAL  SUCCESS.  127 

signed  by  Speaker  Cannon;  then  it  was  hurried  to  the 
Senate  chamber,  where  the  Vice-President  affixed  his  auto- 
graph at  exactly  half  past  twelve. 

From  the  Capitol  it  was  quickly  conveyed  to  the  White 
House,  where  the  President  was  ready  to  act.  Here  were 
assembled  several  of  those  who  had  been  most  active  in 
achieving  its  success,  with  such  representatives  of  the  two 
Territories  as  were  in  the  National  Capital.  The  House 
Committee  was  represented  by  Chairman  Hamilton,  whose 
self-abnegation  in  allowing  the  Senate  Bill  to  be  substitut- 
ed for  his  own  should  not  soon  be  forgotten,  and  by  Kep- 
resentatives  Guernsey  and  Cole.  The  Senate  Committee 
was  appropriately  represented  by  its  chairman,  Senator 
Beveridge.  Postmaster  General  Hitchcock,  who  had  ren- 
dered efficient  aid,  represented  the  Cabinet.  Delegate  An- 
drews from  New  Mexico,  and  Delegate  Cameron  from  Ari- 
zona, the  actual  representatives  of  the  newly  enfranchised 
commonwealths  were  prominent,  and  beside  them  were 
Thomas  B.  Catron,  of  Santa  Fe,  H.  I.  Latham  of  Phoenix, 
and  J.  T.  Williams  of  Tucson,  with  Ira  M.  Bond,  the 
well  known  New  Mexican  correspondent,  and  others  in- 
terested. 

The  President  said  a  few  words  of  congratulation,  and 
then  proposed  to  affix  his  official  signature.  The  Post- 
master General  presented  a  gold  pen,  with  the  request  that 
ic  should  be  used,  and  Delegate  Andrews  produced  the 
unique  gold-banded  quill  taken  from  the  great  American 
eagle  captured  in  Taos,  and  furnished  for  the  occasion,  in 
its  beautiful  case,  as  a  patriotic  service  by  George  B.  Pax- 
ton,  when  he  had  no  thought  that  Death  would  forbid  his 
presence  at  the  ceremony.  The  President  wrote  half  of 
the  signature  with  the  former  and  the  remainder  with  the 
ktter;  returning  the  pens  to  the  donors  as  mementoes  of 
this  great  historic  occasion. 

The  White  House  clock  stood  at  1:40  p.  m. 

That  signature  ended  the  drama  of  the  "Struggle  for 
Statehood."  There  had  been  more  than  fifty  Statehood 
Bills  in  the  sixty  years  of  effort.  Those  few  penstrokes 
transformed  a  Statehood  Bill  into  a  Statehood  Law. 


128  FINAL  SUCCESS. 

The  people  of  Xew  Mexico  were  no  longer  serfs  but 
Freemen;  no  longer  subjects  but  Citizens;  no  longer  to  be 
treated  as  aliens  but  as  Americans. 

HALLELUJAH ! 


rst  (Congress  of  %  Sratcb  Stales  of 

&t  the  £ecm«I  Cession, 

Begun  and  held  at  the  City  of  Washington  on  Monday,  the  sixth  day  of  IX-ct-,,,!.  r  onr 
thousand  nine  hundred  aad  nine. 


ACT 

To  enable  the  people  of  New  Mexico  to  form  a  constitution  and  stair 
government  and  be  admitted  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing  with  tli»> 
original  States;  and  to  enable  the  people  of  Arizona  to  form  a  constitution 
and  state  government  and  be  admitted  into  the  Union  on  an  equal  footing 
with  the  original  States. 


Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  Haute  oj  Representatives  oj  the  r,ni«l 
State*  of  America  in  Congress  osswniW,  That  the  qualified  elector*  of  tlir 
Territory  of  New  Mexico  are  hereby  authorized  to  vote  for  and  chooee  delegate*  to 
form  a  constitutional  convention  for  said  Territory  for  the  purpose  of  framing 
a  constitution  for  the  proposed  State  of  ItoW  Mexico.  Said  convention  shall 
consist  of  one  hundred  delegates;  and  the  governor,  chief  justice,  and  secretary 
of  said  Territory  shall  apportion  the  delegates  to  be  thus  selected,  as  nearly  aa 
may  be,  equitably  among  the  several  counties  thereof  in  accordance  with  the 
voting  population,  as  shown  by  the  vote  cast  at  the  election  for  Delegate  in 
Congress  in  said  Territory  in  nineteen  hundred  and  eight:  ProvuM,  That  in 
the  event  that  any  new  counties  shall  have  been  added  after  said  election,  the 
apportionment  for  delegates  shall  be  made  projwrtionate  to  the  vote  cast  within 
the  various  precincts  contained  in  the  area  of  *u<  h  m>w  counties  no  created, 
and  the  proportionate  number  of  delegates  so  apportioned  thai!  tx>  deducted 
from  the  original  counties  out  of  which  such  counties  shall  have  been  utals4. 

The  governor  of  said  Territory  shall,  within  thirty  days  after  the  approval 
of  this  Act,  by  proclamation,  in  which  the  aforesaid  apportionment  of  delegates 
to  the  convention  shall  be  fully  specified  aad  announced,  order  an  election  of 
the  delegates  aforesaid  on  a  day  designated  by  him  in  said  proclamation,  not 
earlier  than  sixty  nor  later  than  ninety  4tf»  after  the  approval  of  this  Act. 
i  for  delegate*  shall  be  held  aad  conducted,  the  return*  made,  and 
of  persons  elected  to  such  oosYention  issued,  s*  Dearly  a*  may 
to,  in  the  same  aanner  as  is  prescribed  by  the  bm  of  said  Territory  regulating 
therein  of  members  of  the  legislature  existing  at  the  time  of  the  last 


Statehood  Act  of  1910.     First  Page. 


A*  tvmeet  «f  fto  •Oof*  far  «»i  -!•«»  «f 
•t  fii*  MM  ntti  &*  M»  pi*  to 


t»  wpeod^l  and«-  the  dinette  «ftt»  Sacwtetf  rf  A*  In*«»kr,  aa*  dwB  W 
bnmded  to  be  tanlly  expended  ia  tfae  prwent  Territory  of  Aflmtt.  tkttmgii 

thewwtarj  of«id  Territory.  M  ««y  l»  mnemij  taaA  proper  in  Unx&KrvtioA 
of  th«  Seen^wy  of  0»e  Interior,  in  attfar  to  oeny  «*»  U>«  Wl  istetK  )ttdl  meviiaf 


United  Statm  md 


Statehood  Act  of  1910.     Last  Page. 


